


Highway to Hell

by Arctimon



Category: Big Hero 6 (2014), Big Hero 6: The Series (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:42:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 65,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23484016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arctimon/pseuds/Arctimon
Summary: The road is paved with good intentions as Go Go looks to help out Robbie by competing in a cross-country, no-holds-barred contest known as the Hell Race.  But when the petal hits the metal, the two of them are caught up in a wild ride together...and one of their lives will be irreversibly changed forever.  Go Go/Robbie; takes place after Season 2.  The epilogue, Come, High Water, is now up!
Relationships: Robbie Reyes/Go Go Tomago
Comments: 16
Kudos: 19





	1. Advocate

_**Disclaimer:** Big Hero 6 is owned by Disney Animation. Robbie Reyes is owned by Marvel._

* * *

_**Chapter 1 – Advocate** _

Graduation could not have come at a better time.

In the midst of her studies, being a superhero on a team that consisted of her closest friends and a robot, being hunted as vigilantes as said superhero, and fighting so many evil people and corporations, she had forgotten what it was like to sit down, put her feet up, and have nothing to do.

No homework.

No patrol.

Just a big fat shiny degree with her dual major in Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Design, a veggie omelet, and a large cup of coffee waiting for her on the table.

Yup. _Finally_ , Go Go had some time to relax...

"Hey, are you gonna eat that?"

Oh yeah. There was also _that_.

"I'm clearly eating it. I'm just savoring the moment."

"Oh. Are you sure?"

"Trust me, buddy," Fred said from across the table, two pancakes dangling on his fork. "You don't want to try to eat her food. I did it once."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Go Go turned to her right at the guy. "Once is usually enough to learn."

Fred held up his finger on the other hand, a bright pink heart band-aid on his knuckle. "This was from yesterday."

"Holy cow! Did she bite you or something?"

"Oh, I'm just kidding." He ladled some more syrup onto his stack. "I may be a lot of things, Robbie, but I'm not _that_ crazy."

Thankfully, Aunt Cass came to the rescue for the extra member of the gang, setting a plate down in front of him. "Here you go, Robert. Try not to eat it all at once."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"Such a polite boy." She leaned down to stare at his face. "And you have very vibrant green eyes. I don't think I've ever seen that shade before. You must get a lot of compliments about them."

"Umm...not really? But I appreciate it."

She peered over his head at his neighbor. "Where on Earth did you find him, Go Go?"

"Someone had a _For Sale_ sign on him in their lawn," she quipped, sipping her coffee. "And he was a good price."

The boy next to him made a motion to respond, but his mouth was too full of egg to speak anything coherently.

Yeah, she didn't really understand anything when it came to the person sitting next to her: Mr. Roberto Reyes.

It was hard to believe that it had already been a few months since she went to make a delivery to Rodrigo Reyes' flower shop and subsequently ran into his grandson, Robbie. What had followed that morning was a whirlwind: riding out to find the people who stole his grandfather's stock, fighting said gang back to back with him, and getting low-key flirted on.

Which was a very weird feeling.

Of course, when Aunt Cass had interrogated both Robbie and Go Go at the graduation dinner, she had only really mentioned the very first part. Even Robbie knew to keep his mouth shut about most of the ordeal.

And over the course of the semester, they had kept in touch. They would call each other (him more than her) every once in a while. He crashed her apartment when she had called him in the middle of the night. More recently, he had visited for the graduation and when Hiro had gone missing.

In fact, now that Go Go was actually thinking about it, she was seeing a lot more of him recently. She...wasn't sure how to feel about that either. He was a nice guy. Someone who was dependable. Someone who was her friend.

A friend that she had now shared her bed with three times.

"What are you staring at me for?"

Go Go realized too late that she had been looking at him. She quickly grabbed her mug and turned away. "I'm wondering why you look like a vulture eating a carcass when you're eating."

"What? I'm hungry."

"Yes. We get it. At least get your elbows off the table."

Wasabi chuckled from across the table. "Aren't you glad you joined us for breakfast, Robbie?"

"Hey, I don't normally get to hang out with anyone. It's just me working ten hours a day at the garage." Robbie pushed his now-empty plate forward. "And me getting scraps from my roommate. Is there any chance your aunt can just make food for me on the regular, Hiro?"

"You'd have to pay for shipping," Hiro joked.

"Go Go can just deliver it to me."

"Robbie, I am _not_ driving 90 minutes round trip to deliver you food every single day."

"But you have the bike and everything!" he pleaded.

"Yeah. And you _also_ have a bike."

Honey Lemon stared at the two, a wistful look in her eye. "Ahh, I love it when you two are together. Don't you agree, Go Go?"

Go Go stabbed the rest of her omelet with the business end of her fork.

"...I'm gonna go see if Aunt Cass needs help."

Honey Lemon, having taken the hint, walked off to the kitchen, and Go Go went back to her breakfast. The rest of her friends already knew that they didn't want to mess with her when she was in one of her moods, so they kept silent.

"Wait, what did she mean by that?"

Except for one.

Robbie's phone vibrated in his pocket, and he brought it up to read whatever text came up. His eyes widened as he scrolled further down.

"What's up?" Hiro asked.

He didn't answer immediately, instead getting up from the table and grabbing his coat off the back of his chair. He was almost all the way to the door before someone spoke up.

"Robbie!"

He turned his head back inside to see everyone staring back at him. "What?"

"You want to share with the rest of the class?" Wasabi asked.

"I...uhh..." Robbie quickly glanced back down at his phone. "I have to go help my grandfather at the shop. I didn't realize what time it was. I should have been over there an hour ago. Tell your aunt thanks for the breakfast, Hiro. Gotta go!" He almost ran out the door and around the corner where he parked his bike.

"Sooo...someone wanna explain that?" Fred said.

"Yeah, he called me Hiro. He never calls me by my actual name," Hiro added. "That was weird."

"He's been acting weird for a while. Hanging around a lot more often. Not that we have a problem with it, but still." Wasabi bent back in his chair to see if he could spot him. "Wonder if anything is up..."

"Guys!"

The three males turned to see Go Go with her hands on the table, her omelet now long forgotten.

"You guys are worrying over nothing. He lives on top of a garage with someone he barely sees once a week. He's probably just lonely. Did you ever think about that?"

The trio looked at each other, not answering.

"Ugh." She got up from her chair and started toward the exit. "Fine. I'll just prove it to you. I'll go out there, talk to him while he's trying to jump his cycle because he always had to do that, and everything will be fine." She shoved open the door and walked through.

"Did...we ever say anything bad about him?"

"No, we didn't," Hiro answered. "But she's always weird when it comes to her boyfriend."

"...You do know that she would murder you if she heard you say that, right?"

"Which is why, Fred, I waited until _after_ she left before saying it."

* * *

Go Go leaned her head around the corner to try to find Robbie. It was still a busy morning out on the streets, so he had to park his bike a little bit down near the fruit stand. He was still there, pumping the gas to try to get it started.

Just like she said it was going to do.

"Robbie!"

He yanked his head back up over his shoulder to see her approach. He made a motion to try to pull his kickstand up with his foot, but Go Go grabbed his wrist and stopped his progress.

"Did you really think you could just leave all abruptly like that?"

"I was kind of hoping, yeah."

Go Go crossed her arms and stared at him. "Robbie. What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong. I'm fine."

He looked up to see her rummaging through her wallet. "What are you doing?"

"Wondering why Fred didn't print off more. But don't worry about it." Go Go stood next to his bike, her hand traveling up to his shoulder. "Something's up. Just tell me."

Robbie sighed deeply, glancing back down at the cell nestled in his mount. It took him a moment to speak up, but even Go Go was disturbed by the sudden change of tone.

"You can't tell anyone. Not any of your friends."

"I..." Go Go stopped herself and nodded. "OK. I won't tell them."

He grabbed his phone, absentmindedly scrolling through some of his apps. It took a while for Robbie to open up sometimes; maybe that was the "bad boy" persona that he liked to portray to people.

Not that she had one of those personas herself or anything.

"My granddad had cancer."

Go Go's inner monologue shut down as his words hit her hard. Whatever she had been expecting, it certainly wasn't that. "Woah. I'm sorry. When did that happen?"

"I...don't really know a lot of the details. He just told me a little bit ago. You'd never be able to tell with the way he works at the shop all day. But he needs help."

"So that's why you've been around the city more often. Because of him."

"Yeah. My boss rags on me for taking so much time off, but I haven't told him about this. Not yet. I...kind of want to keep it as quiet as possible for now. I don't want to freak anyone out."

"Is it serious?" Go Go asked.

"Serious enough that he's going to need to start chemotherapy soon. The problem is that he's stubborn. He thinks he can just tough it out." Robbie's hand rotated around the handle of the bike. "There's this treatment that we're looking at that's experimental, but it has a chance of curing him outright. But it costs _a lot_ of money."

"How much?"

"Not enough for two guys owning a flower shop and working at a car garage can afford. It's his best chance, though."

"You know..." Go Go glanced back toward the direction of the Cafe. "Fred can probably help you out. He's got enough money to-"

"No!"

Robbie shouted loud enough for a couple of the people on the opposite sidewalk to turn their heads. Wincing slightly, he lowered his voice. "I don't want to get anyone else involved. I can take care of this."

"Robbie, he literally has more money than he knows what to do with. He is good for it."

"I don't care. I don't want to owe him anything."

"Grr." Now he was just being ignorant. "OK then, jerk-face. How do you plan on getting a ludicrously large amount of money in a short amount of time?"

"I have my ways."

Go Go looked down at his phone to see him still scrolling. He was in his e-mail, the box full of things she didn't feel like snooping through. Her eyes fell to the trunk of his bike, his travel back open in it. She saw something that looked like a flier in it; the lettering on it was large and dark red, with the picture of a bike on the bottom of it. Curious, she stuck her hand inside and pulled it out.

"Hey, what're you-"

She shushed him as she scanned the words at the bottom of the flier. She found herself getting madder and madder as she read it. Once she was finished, she wheeled around to him and waved it in his face. "Robbie!"

"Wait, you can actually-"

"You said you had stopped street racing!"

One of the first things that Rodrigo had said about Robbie in his attempts to set him up with Go Go was the fact that he had been in trouble with the law several times in his youth. One of his favorite "pastimes" was racing down the main street of Santa Cruz against other teenagers for money. Most of the time, it was in his own vehicle. Other times...it wasn't.

It had gotten to the point where he was being bailed out of jail on a regular basis. It was only when he was threatened with expulsion from his high school that he finally gave it up...or so Go Go was told. Robbie, in one of his visits to her apartment, excitedly told her a story about how he had won a few grand drag racing somewhere in the countryside against some questionable characters. However, when he was asked whether his grandfather knew about it, he had instantly clammed back up.

Now, Go Go was no stranger to being rebellious in her youth, but she had grown out of it. She thought that Robbie had turned it around. Clearly not.

"Are you crazy? You're just asking for it now!"

"Go Go. Listen to me." Robbie plucked the flier from her hands. "This is the best opportunity I'm going to get. I win this...and I'm done. I can win this race and get enough money for the treatment."

"Going down a straight road is a little different from whatever that is," Go Go retorted, motioning to the paper. "A cross-country race? Really? Not even my bike is equipped for something like that. How is yours going to get through it?"

"I have a plan. Look..." He very carefully put his hands on her shoulders. "I _promise_ you. This is the last one."

"How many times have you told your granddad that?"

He didn't take the question very well as he leaned back into the seat with a scowl. "He doesn't have to know about this. Go Go, _please_ don't tell anyone. I'm not doing this for myself. I'm...I'm doing this for him."

The two stared at each other, and it took all of her self-control to not give him her worst disapproving frown. Shaking her head, she turned on the spot. "Fine. I won't tell anyone. But I don't feel good about this at all."

"Thanks!" Robbie's arms were halfway around her body before he stopped himself. "Oh yeah. Sorry. No touching in public."

"Don't you have to get out of here? Flower shop and all that?"

"Oh yeah, I do." He turned on his bike and slapped his helmet on. "I'll see you later!"

Go Go watched him drive off, her mood slowly cratering. Man, why did he have to be so frustrating sometimes? She didn't mean to come off as a concerned parent. Or a concerned girl-

She stopped herself just short. Yup, wasn't ready for that yet.

She threw open the door to the Cafe a little harder than she had intended, alerting the rest of the gang of her return. Honey Lemon was back at the table, listening to Fred probably say some stupid joke. She slammed her body down in the chair she had vacated, returning to her omelet.

"So, do you have the proof?"

OK, that condescending glare was now being thrown at Wasabi.

"I'll take that as a no."

"Whatever." Go Go grabbed her water. "Boys are stupid."

"Hiro called Robbie your boyfriend without you knowing!"

Now Go Go wasn't the only person at the table with a look that could kill.

* * *

_That evening…_

Go Go parked her cycle in the street and turned it off. Opening her trunk, she pulled out her workout bag and boxing gloves. Her mood was still very sour, for a few reasons.

She felt bad about not inquiring more with Robbie. Bad about being frustrated with him. Bad about being out of the loop with his granddad. So naturally, she took her frustration out in the best way she knew how: punching things down at the gym.

And the workout she had done was more strenuous than normal Her arms and legs were aching badly. Her knuckles felt like they were on fire. But that was a good thing; that's how she knew she had given it her all.

Go Go went over to the apartment mailboxes. She fished her key out of her pocket, slid it in, and pulled out the envelopes inside. Of course Honey Lemon didn't get the mail. It wasn't like she was particularly busy or anything…

She slung her boxing gloves over her neck and started going up the stairs. She'd wait until she was properly fed and showered before taking a look at it. Not that they ever really got much to begin with, but still. The landlord had mentioned something about a possible increase in rent, so she had to keep an eye out for that.

She opened the door to her apartment to see her roommate with about twenty different color swatches strewn on the kitchen table, staring at them in deep thought. "Hey, Honey Lemon."

"Hey, Go Go! How was the gym?"

"Same as always." She tossed the gloves over her computer chair and kicked her shoes off. "Dare I ask what you're doing?"

Honey Lemon picked up two of the green cards and examined them closely. "Which one do you think fits Robbie's eyes better? Emerald Green or Paris Green?"

"...They literally look the same."

"No, they don't. The Paris one has more yellow in it."

Go Go went to the fridge to look for something to eat. "Honey Lemon, I don't need a plush doll of Robbie to sleep with. I'm not fourteen years old and hopelessly have a crush on my biotech classmate. Just use it for someone else."

"I don't know anyone else with green eyes."

" _You_ have green eyes."

"And I already made myself. See?"

She took her head out of the fridge just in time to see two plush dolls sitting on top of the door. One was definitely her friend, and the other was-

"...You actually made me."

"Isn't it cute?"

Go Go took it in her hand and stared at it. It was eerily creepy as to how she got the details down. The doll even had her trademark frown on its face, one thin tuft of purple hair hanging between its eyes. "Cute isn't the word I'd use, but it's pretty impressive."

"I know, right? I think I'm getting pretty good at this."

"Yeah, this is what happens when there's no crime going on and you have a bunch of time on your hands."

It was true; ever since they had taken down Trina, things in San Fransokyo had almost slowed to a crawl. They still went out on patrol almost instinctively, but something about the entire city almost getting melted down seemed to have caused the remaining villains of the city to lay low. That gave the team an opportunity to take a break themselves and let the police do their thing.

But that _also_ caused Go Go to be bored out of her mind. She didn't have school to distract her now.

"Ahem."

Just her roommate.

The Korean looked up to see a fan of swatches in her face. Conceding defeat, she pointed to a random color. "There, that one. Happy?"

"Yes."

Go Go grabbed the lettuce out of the fridge as well as an onion. She didn't have the energy to whip up something time-consuming; a salad would have to do. Luckily, she had a recipe in her mind. "You didn't use all of the soy sauce, did you?"

"I don't think so. There should be a whole bottle in the cupboard."

There was, thankfully. She cracked it open and started pouring it out into a bowl.

"So."

Uh oh. When Honey Lemon started conversations like that, they didn't lead anywhere good.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" Go Go grabbed her knife and started slicing up her onion.

"You and Robbie."

Oh. _That's_ where she was going.

"You guys are coming up on five months together."

"We have not been _together_ for five months." She put her lettuce and onions together and went back to her dressing. "We've known of each other's _existence_ for five months. That's a very big difference."

"You know what I mean."

She added her dollop of sugar in. "No. I don't." She reached for the apple vinegar off to the side. "You want to clarify what you-Gah!"

Honey Lemon appeared out of nowhere, staring her down with a stern expression. "Go Go. Have you even made it official with him yet?"

"No."

"Go Go!"

She threw her hands out to her sides. "What do you want me to say, Honey Lemon? That we sit across the table from each other and stare into each other's eyes with heart and rainbows and all that mush? We don't. So I'm sorry that I messed up your little fantasy of us."

"Ooooh. So you're an 'us', now?"

Yeah, she walked into that one. Go Go tried to reach around her body to grab the garlic, but Honey Lemon wasn't having it. "Have you _at least_ told him you liked him?"

She managed to grab her garlic, sprinkling a little bit into her concoction. Best not to stare into the beast's eyes.

"Leiko Ethel Tanaka."

"Your mom voice isn't going to work on me... _Aina_." Go Go added a tiny bit of chili flakes in and started stirring it with a spoon. "I heard a disappointed mom voice throughout my entire childhood. And since yours is considerably less Korean, it doesn't scare me."

"You rag on everyone else-"

"Aspen doesn't need any prodding when it comes to Wasabi. And Hiro and Karmi were practically made for each other."

"And their relationships-"

Go Go finally snapped.

" _I'm not_ _ **in**_ _a relationship!"_

The silence that permeated through the entire apartment was deafening. Go Go froze for a moment, and then immediately grabbed her salad and finished dressing and took two giant steps to the table, plopping herself down.

"Go Go."

Great. A tone even worse than disappointment. Pity. She tried to ignore it as she poured her dressing into her salad and mixed it all together.

But it wasn't going to give up that easily.

Honey Lemon took her place again, her own salad bowl in her hands. "Why are you so against having people know about you and Robbie?"

"I'm not against it."

"Go Go, I saw your face when Robbie was getting the third degree by Aunt Cass after graduation. It looked like it was going to pop."

She took the pause in conversation to stuff her mouth with more lettuce.

"You said it about Wasabi and Aspen, but I think you and Robbie are perfect for each other." She twirled her fork around in the air. "You both have bikes, you both have stripes in your hair, you both have a thing for sarcasm..."

"Literally none of those are a basis of any sort of relationship."

"OK, then what _is_?"

Go Go's fork hit the bottom of the bowl. Great, no more greens to distract her.

" _I_ think that you're so intent on looking at other people's relationships that you can't focus on your own. Robbie's a great guy, Go Go. And I _know_ you like him. So why can't you just admit it?" Honey Lemon leaned forward to look at her over her glasses. "He's hung out with us a bunch of times. Everyone enjoys being around him. He's _slept in your bed_."

"...How do you know about that?"

"Heh." The Latina waved her face with a few swatches. "I'm not _completely_ oblivious when I'm sleeping."

"Just mostly."

The two girls fell silent, and Go Go took a second to take stock of her possible actions. She could steadfastly deny everything and go get more salad. Or go shower. Or lie to Honey Lemon about what she was thinking.

But it was _Honey Lemon_. The girl who literally seemed to make the sun come out of the clouds because of her cheerfulness.

The girl who had somehow managed to sneak her way into Go Go's living situation. She'd understand...right?

"I just don't consider what we have a relationship."

"Why not?" Honey Lemon said gently.

"I don't know." Go Go set her empty bowl down. "We're not living together. We're not exclusive to each other. We haven't talked about it. I don't even really know that much about him."

"Every relationship has to start somewhere, Go Go. I saw that look when you ran out after him this morning. You were really worried about him."

"Yeah, he's..." She decided to take the safe approach. "He's going through some stuff right now. Personal things with him and Rodrigo."

"Really? Then I should probably call him and see how he's doing."

"Don't."

Honey Lemon looked up to see Go Go had grabbed the phone out of her hand. Realizing her mistake, she set it down onto the table. "Robbie doesn't want to make a big deal out of everything. He's working on it. He told me not to tell you guys."

"Oh." She looked disappointed, but let it go. "Well, you should do something for him, then. Something to help him out. I'm sure he'd appreciate it." She grabbed all of their bowls and walked over to the sink. "And then maybe you guys can talk about how to go forward."

"...You just want to take awkward pictures of us together, don't you?"

"Not _just_ that."

Go Go chuckled, turning her head to look at her roommate. "Since when did you get so smart about things like this?"

Honey Lemon put her hand on her chest. "I've always been an expert at affairs of the heart. It all started with my love, Andre-"

"Being friends with a random guy from France does not equal an 'affair of the heart'."

It was too late; the Latina was already starry-eyed. "I dreamed about him every night. He was so handsome. That hair. That smile..."

"Ugh." Go Go reached out to sort through the long-forgotten mail. "Get a room, why don't you?" She held out the first envelope over her shoulder. "This is from your grandmother."

"Oh! She probably sent that to thank us for fixing her silverware."

Feeling it slip out of her hands, she went quickly through the rest of the mail. Credit card letters from the bank, window cleaning solicitation, ads from the grocery store. Nothing from the landlord.

She held up the last piece of paper in her hand. It was folded over twice, but it looked awfully familiar. She flattened it out to look at it...

Wait. This was it. This was the flier that Robbie had. Same red border. Same black background.

But instead of Robbie's name on top...

_LEIKO TANAKA_

It was hers.

Go Go looked over her shoulder to see Honey Lemon still engrossed in her relative's letter. Satisfied, she looked back over the words for the second time that day:

_**100th Annual Hell Race** _

_Twist, Turns, and Terror  
_ _Be the one to win it all!  
_ _Come ride...if you dare.  
_ _Course and date sent on acceptance.  
_ _($1,000 Mandatory Buy-In; all money and  
_ _side bets take place at the Deals with the Devil)_

"What's that?"

Go Go whipped around to see Honey Lemon trying to look at her flier. She quickly pulled it down out of her sight. "Nothing. Just some junk mail." She tore it up into squares, tossing her newly-formed confetti into the recycling. "What'd your grandmother say?"

"She really appreciates what we did. She said it shines like it was brand new." Honey Lemon slapped it onto the fridge and put a heart magnet on it. "She also asked about me and my marital status."

"Typical grandparent."

She came back over to the table with a mug of tea. "I already told her that she can look forward to when all our children come visit her in the future. We'll go over her house and have giant feasts and all that."

"Huh?" Go Go gave her the stink eye. "Our?"

"Yeah. My kids. Your kids. Everyone's kids."

"I'm not having kids."

"Oh, you're just saying that."

"Honey Lemon, I'm never having kids."

"That means you're having five."

Go Go growled as she got up from the table. She needed to grab clothes for her shower. "You can have as many kids as you want. I'm not."

"But you'd be great as a parent!" she shouted from downstairs. "Wouldn't you love to have a little boy or girl running around the house?"

"I get that enough when Fred comes here," Go Go answered, her yellow shirt in her hands.

The blonde was off on another tangent again. She could feel the rainbows and unicorns emanate their energy from the kitchen. "And they'll play with all of our kids, and we can be one big giant family."

"Honey Lemon."

She was back downstairs with her clothes, along with a now sour look on her face. "I'm not having kids. Not ever."

"...Not ever?"

Oh boy. Go Go was running the full gambit tonight. She had gotten disappointment. She had gotten pity. And now, for the cherry on top, she was getting heartbreak. Her friend's bottom lip was starting to quiver.

She sighed heavily. Why was she doing this to herself?

"I'll tell you what." _  
_

Honey Lemon's face instantly perked back up.

"When _Wasabi_ has a kid...I'll have a kid. Deal?"

"Yay!" She threw her arms around Go Go and squealed.

" _Aaand_ we're hugging again."

"Sorry." She pulled back to let her shower. "I'll leave you alone for the rest of the night."

"No, you won't," Go Go said, smirking. "But I've gotten used to it by now."

Honey Lemon went back to the table and resumed her color coordination while the Korean went to the bathroom door. Her hand was on the knob when she suddenly remembered something.

"You...do know I just said that because I know Wasabi's never going to have kids, right?"

The girl in the chair turned and raised her eyebrow at her. "Sure. If that's what you want to believe."

* * *

_Even more that evening..._

Yeah, now that she actually thought about it, Aspen was totally going to want kids. This was, of course, provided the two were still together in the future.

Who was she kidding? Of course they were going to be together in the future.

Go Go was laying in her bed, the digits on her alarm clock now reading 1:30 AM. The shower had been great, and the bed even more so.

So why wasn't she able to fall asleep? Her roommate, mostly.

A lot of Honey Lemon's advice earlier was spot on. To be honest, she never really thought about the future or what she was going to do. The past year she had been so focused on school, not to mention the whole superhero thing in her spare time. But now that she was no longer at SFIT, she needed to take a hard look at what could happen.

And despite her misgivings, it also had to involve Robbie.

Go Go closed her eyes. What _did_ she want out of him? What did he want out of her? She didn't know the answer to either of those questions. She knew a lot about electromagnetics and mechanics and things that would make the average person's eyes roll into the back of their head, but nothing in college prepared her for a boy.

"Wonder what Mom and Dad would say." _  
_

She knew exactly what they would say. They would tell her that she should have stayed home and worked with that "nice Korean boy" down at the manufacturing plant, get married, and become a housewife. They weren't really a big fan of the route she decided to take. It was a wonder that they even let her go to college at all.

Go Go grabbed her phone and went to her bank app. She never really had to work that much for money; even with the misgivings her parents had had, they made sure she had enough money to get by. But looking at her balance still made her feel uneasy.

She sighed heavily. She wished she could help Robbie out, and not just from the sidelines. From straight on the field...

Hold on. There _was_ a way.

She quietly got up from her bed, her bare feet hitting the rug under her bed. She didn't want to wake the clowder of cats sleeping off near her dresser.

" _Meow?"_

Go Go looked down at the first step to see the smallest kitten curled on it, its legs hanging off. She couldn't help but smile. "Harley, how do you find the weirdest places to sleep?"

The kitten blinked back up at her, not responding.

"Here, you wanna come with me?" She bent down and held Harley in her arms like a baby. "We're going to go on a quest. I gotta find something."

She went down the rest of the stairs and went to the recycling bin. It wasn't the night for the city to pick it up; the remnants of the mail would still be in there.

Go Go set Harley down on the table as she turned her phone light on. She bent her head down and started swiping through it. The letters from today, some scraps of fabric from Honey Lemon's projects, a few cans of seltzer...

Weird. It wasn't in there. She could have sworn she put it in there with the rest of the junk mail. Where did it-

"Go Go!"

She jolted up and wheeled around to Honey Lemon, who was now lying on her back in her bed. Her head was upside down, a dribble of drool going down her cheek.

"Come meet Andre. His hair is like soft-serve ice cream..."

Go Go shook her head at her roommate, amused. The alarmingly loud snoring that had plagued Honey Lemon earlier in her stay there had given way to something else: sleeptalking. It wasn't the worst thing in the world, but it was hard to sleep when she muttered about everything from Andre to her family's chili recipe.

Which she had to remind herself in the morning to ask about. It had sounded really good at three in the morning.

Pushing that aside, Go Go strode over to Honey Lemon and grabbed her arm. "Up you go." She put her head gently on the pillow and wiped her mouth with the sheet. Now that she had a proper posture, she fell silent, nestling one of her newly made dolls in her hands.

"That better not be me." She craned her head to look at it. Thankfully, it was not; it was too white, too rotund, and too much of a likeness to a robot to be her.

"I'll find it in the morning," she muttered. She let out a giant yawn as the kitten resumed circling her feet. "C'mon, Harley. Let's go back to sleep."

The trip back upstairs took a much shorter time, and Go Go's company went over to the rest of the animals to finish out her night. That was another thing that she was going to have to figure out; the kittens were getting older and more inquisitive. There was no way she was going to be able to keep all of the cats together.

But they were adorable.

"Stop thinking, Go Go. Worry about it tomorrow." She put her phone down on her bedside table, overlapping the race flier. She tucked one leg back under her covers-

Wait.

She creaked her neck back around.

Didn't she-

Go Go peeled the paper off the table and brought it up to her face. There it was. The race flier.

In one piece.

"How does that work?"

She stared at it for about four seconds...and then threw her head back onto the pillow, now asleep.

At least she had an idea as to what to do about Robbie.

But it was going to take a little help.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** It's taken a fair bit of time, hasn't it?

The number one question I've gotten over the past few months is "When are you going to start your Robbie story?"

The answer, I can happily say...is now.

For those of you who do not know, Robbie Reyes is a character that has been showing up in a few of my stories, most recently in the last one-shot I posted about Hiro. He is very much the same Robbie Reyes that's in the Marvel Comics.

Mostly.

Just like Peni and Aspen, if you are one of those people who have read the particular miniseries that this story is going to be based off of, you _probably_ know where this is going to end up. I'm not going to spoil anything one way or another, but some things are going to change over to here. Not anything too drastic, but I want to keep people on their toes.

Next chapter, Go Go's going to get herself prepared for the race. We're also going to delve a little deeper into the majesty behind the entire race...because Go Go's going to learn real quick not everything is what it seems on the surface.

Read and review, if you like. Until next time, everyone.


	2. In The Details

_Apologies for the late update. Hopefully what's down there will make up for it._

_**Disclaimer:** Big Hero 6 is owned by Disney Animation. I also don't own the other person showing up here._

* * *

_**Chapter 2 – In The Details** _

The first thing Go Go did when she woke up in the morning was go outside and walk over to her bike.

...Yeah, right.

The _real_ first thing was take a long deep swig of her extra-strong coffee that was waiting for her in the pot.

 _Then_ she went outside.

It was her pride and joy. She remembered when her bike was nothing more than just a chassis sitting on chains at SFIT. Professor Callaghan had given her permission to build her cycle there, as long as it did not interfere with her regular schoolwork. Given that she couldn't build it in the tiny apartment she was living in at the time, it had meant a great deal for him to let her do that.

What a much simpler time.

Go Go brought the mug to her lips as she looked it over. Whatever her invitation had been alluding to, it seemed like something that was going to test even the best of bikers. Hers was well equipped to handle the occasional trek to Muirahara Woods, but she didn't want to run the risk of being unprepared.

So, as she wiggled her toes in the plush gray slippers Honey Lemon had gotten for her birthday a year back, her mind began to draw up an itinerary of things she had to do to get herself ready.

The first order of business had already been attempted, and it went about as well as she expected. She had tried to call Robbie a couple of times yesterday and the morning, each one going straight to his voicemail. She didn't really know what the workload entailed for a flower shop, but she had at least imagined that he would have sent a text back saying he'd call at some point.

But he didn't.

Go Go slipped her phone back into her pocket, climbing the stairs up to the apartment. Normally, he'd jump at every opportunity to talk to her, but it was like he was ignoring her.

And she didn't like being ignored.

But she had to restrain herself. There were too many perfectly reasonable explanations as to why Robbie wouldn't respond.

Job.

Family.

Another girl.

Go Go's foot hovered over the last step of the staircase. How did _that_ get into her mind?

Granted, she had no idea what sort of history he had with other girls. But why did she care, anyway? It wasn't like they were-

"Ugh." She turned the knob to her door and walked back into her apartment. "You almost said it again."

"Said what again?"

She looked up to see her roommate sitting at the computer chair, trying to hide her giant yawn behind her own mug. "You're up early."

"Yeah, I...Aaaaah." The Latina blinked her eyes to shoo away her sleep. "I have a lot of things to do on the storefront. Ever since graduation, so many people have wanted me to make things." She stuck out her thumb at the computer screen. "I got ten new e-mails just from last night. It will probably keep me busy until after the weekend. I have so many supplies I have to go shopping for."

"Exciting." Go Go went over to the pot to refill her drink.

"How about you? Have anything exciting planned for the weekend? You know...provided no one shows up and tries to rob a bank or something?"

Now, did she want to give her the actual answer? Or did she want to make something up to avoid the inevitable interrogation?"

"I might go back out to the woods this weekend. It's suppose to be nice."

Honey Lemon tapped the Enter key, her attention back on her inbox.

"And I might take Robbie with me."

And now her attention was on her.

"Eeeeee!"

As well as her body.

"Can...you get off of my lap, please?"

"You're going to go camping?" Honey Lemon asked, her legs crushing Go Go's thighs. "With Robbie? _Are you going to talk about your feelings?_ "

"Look, it's not like that." She gently pushed her body off of her. "I just haven't gotten to relax ever since this semester started. Even the last time I went to Muirahara, I had to come back because High Voltage was on the loose again. Maybe I'll actually get a chance to get away from it all this time."

"But you're getting away from it all with _Robbie._ "

"I don't know that yet. One, I don't even know if he likes camping." She took another sip, raising a second finger. "Two, I can't even get a hold of him. Three, knowing our luck, something disastrous is going to happen and I'm going to have to come back to the city because...Momakase is stealing swords again or whatever. And what am I going to do? Just leave him in the middle of the woods? How am I going to explain _that_ to him?"

Honey Lemon sighed. "Yeah, I guess that's a good point."

Go Go took a look at her phone, noting the time. "I have to get going. I'm gonna stop by and see Hiro before I go to the post office."

"Oh. I didn't know you were working today."

She turned back to Honey Lemon, her body on the stairs. "I'm not, but there's a package going to SFIT that has a deadline, and all of the other couriers are sick. I think they said it was allergies."

"Yeah, there's definitely something going around." The Latina pulled out a container of yarn and opened it up. "Be sure not to catch it and bring it back here."

"...Honey Lemon?"

"Hmm?"

"Did Aunt Cass commission you to make a plush Mochi?"

Sheepishly grinning, she pushed the ears of the cat back down into the plastic bin. "Noooo..."

* * *

_An hour later..._

She definitely was.

Go Go pulled up to the sidewalk of the Lucky Cat Cafe, cutting her engine. She didn't know when she had gotten so comfortable with lying to Honey Lemon, but it was concerning. It was _more_ concerning that she didn't really know why she wasn't telling her about Robbie and the race. Maybe it was because she would try to dissuade her from the plan she was concocting in her head.

Good thing Baymax didn't have his lie detector any longer.

She walked inside and saw Aunt Cass at the counter, waving to her. Since there were people at the tables, she didn't want to make a scene.

"Hi, Go Go!"

...Never mind. Scene made.

She walked over to the side of the counter to let her finish up with everyone in the line. Maybe he was upstairs; she could probably get up there without her noticing.

"Usual?"

The cup that was sliding across the counter smacked into Go Go's awaiting palm. She smiled as Aunt Cass came over. "Where's your boy at?"

"I hate that Doreen's gotten to you."

"You have to admit it, though. It's fitting."

Go Go ignored her mild teasing. She had a mission to complete. "Is Hiro around?"

"He's in the garage. I'm having him clean all of his little projects out before the next semester starts. You'd be surprised by the amount of clutter that one boy can make."

"Nah, I probably wouldn't."

She was going to have to tread carefully here. Given what the teen genius had done a few days prior, Aunt Cass was a little tense when it came to her nephew.

"I need to borrow Hiro for something."

Aunt Cass's eyebrow went up. "What do you need him for?"

"I have a thing that I want his help on. It might involve us going to SFIT because I don't have the space for it at my apartment."

Still the glare.

"I know what you're thinking, and I promise that I will have him under my eye for the _entire_ time I have him. He will not leave my sight. I swear to you."

Thirty seconds later, Go Go was rounding the corner outside to the garage. She heard the sound of large scraps of metal being scooted around, and she stopped short of the door to let the giant white robot scoot by her.

"Hey, Baymax."

He turned his head around, his front still facing the pile of scrap. _"Hello, Go Go."  
_

"How are you?"

" _I am well. Are your regulatory systems acting at an optimal level?"_

"They're...fine."

Go Go paused for a second. The last time she had seen Baymax was when he was in a broken mess in Hiro's room, his access port shattered all around the floor. No doubt that Hiro had fixed him up. It was also probably a good thing that Baymax wasn't going to have any memory of the whole incident.

"Where's Hiro at? I need to talk to him about something."

Baymax turned his head further, staring into the garage. _"Hiro is currently in a box."_

Go Go followed his gaze, and as it turned out, Hiro's head was deep in a giant cardboard box, rummaging through whatever was in it. He was precariously balancing on his toes as he struggled to reach for something. Carefully, she stepped forward and tapped the side of the box with her foot.

"Earth to Hiro."

The boy yanked his head out and swiped his bangs out of his eyes. "Oh. Hey, Go Go."

"What's up?"

"Oh, you know. Nothing much." Done with working on the box, he pushed it off to the side. "Just...keeping busy."

Go Go nodded. It had been a few days since Hiro had gone missing, and even though he had returned physically fine, mentally he was a wreck. She had given him a verbal beatdown the next morning, but it had been for his own good. She knew what having that sort of mindset could do to your overall health. And she could tell he had reservations about it...which is why she had called Granville after she had left to tell her about Hiro.

Not her proudest moment, talking to her behind his back, but the dean had promised she would give him an ultimatum. Speaking of which...

"How'd your therapy session go?"

Hiro turned around to stare at her. "How do you know about that?"

"Aunt Cass told me."

Aunt Cass hadn't told her. It had been Granville, but he didn't need to know that.

He gave up, reaching up on his wooden shelves for some more stuff. "It...went. He seems like a good person. At least he makes an hour go by fast."

"Yeah. That's what happened when I went to him."

Hiro glanced back at her. "You had one with him?"

"Yeah. And as you probably thought too, he's...strange." Go Go crossed her arms over her body. "But it's nice to have someone to talk to. That's all people may need."

He didn't respond, instead grabbing a bunch of pencils to put into a tin can.

"So, believe it or not, I didn't come all this way to make fun of you."

"That would be a first."

"I need your help with something."

Now he was intrigued. "With what?"

Again with the half-truths. "I need to make some improvements to my bike. There's this...thing that I'm doing over the weekend, and I need to make sure my bike can sustain the trip."

"So you need another bike?"

"Not _another_ one. The Ultra Cycle's great and all, but it's not built for what I'm talking about. That's for speed, and not for durability."

Hiro turned the light off in the garage and walked outside. "So what did you have in mind?"

"I can't show you here," she replied. "I have the plans over at the place that I'm going to take you. And before you ask...Aunt Cass is already OK with it. I told her that I would keep an eye on you as we're working on it."

He still looked a little unsure, so Go Go leaned in with a smile. "Or you can stay here and be bored out of your mind. I guess that's also an option."

"I don't need to be babysat, Go Go." Hiro wiped his hands on a spare towel. "I promise to behave like a good little boy when I'm with you."

"Listen, you jerk-"

Her tirade was cut off as Baymax walked back in, a finger in the air. _"Hiro, you have been doing work around the house for approximately three days. Perhaps it would be best if you took the opportunity to try something different."  
_

The look on Hiro's face was one of sheer awkwardness, but thankfully he decided to take the hint. "Yeah...that'd probably be best. You don't mind, do you Baymax?"

" _I do not."  
_

"Good. Listen to your healthcare companion, Hiro. He knows what he's doing. Thanks, Baymax."

" _You are welcome. I shall stay to tidy up."_

As the two walked back up to the front of the house, Hiro wiped his hands together. "So, where exactly do you plan on doing this? I don't think Aunt Cass would be too happy if I messed up the garage as soon as I cleaned it."

"I already have a place picked out."

* * *

"I let you use this workspace, Ms. Tanaka, under the pretense that you would not cause a giant mess while you were here."

"This isn't a _giant_ mess..."

Go Go waved her arm forward.

"And besides, Hiro did it."

The boy looked up, a smudge of grease on his nose. "I told you that this tarp wasn't going to be big enough."

After stopping at the post office to get their mystery package, Go Go and Hiro had made their way over to their temporary base of operations.

Nope, not their _actual_ base of operations.

Their former one.

Professor Granville had allowed her to use her old lab inside the Robotics building to conduct the autopsy of her motorcycle. Her chassis was back on her chains, just like old times, and the inner workings were sitting right underneath. Her two wheels were disconnected and laying on their sides near her table.

And apparently someone caused the oil tank to leak.

"This was not my fault!"

"Sure it wasn't," Go Go replied, rolling her eyes. "I wasn't anywhere near it."

Hiro growled at her. "Your new oil tank has a tiny hole in it. Of course, we're just learning this _after_ we installed it." He motioned to the attached tank, his finger plugging said hole. "It shouldn't be hard to fix it, though. A little epoxy putty should fix it no problem."

"Then it appears you have a plan, Mr. Hamada." Granville turned to walk out of the lab. "At least I have the pleasure of you two keeping me company. It has been terribly lonely talking to myself in my office for the past week. Let me know if I can be of any assistance."

Go Go handed Hiro the bottle of putty, but she heard the soft sound of someone coughing. She looked up to see the dean was waving her hand toward her, beckoning the Korean to come with her.

"Ummm...I'm gonna go grab us some sodas, OK? Don't go anywhere."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

Brushing off his sarcasm, she got up and went over to the double doors. She ducked into the hallway and was greeted by Professor Granville, a bundle of envelopes in her hand.

"How is Mr. Hamada doing?"

She figured that she wanted to talk to her about Hiro. "He's fine, for the most part. I think he just needs to get back into a rhythm. A lack of crime isn't helping things. But I'm doing my part to keep him busy."

"Well, do let me know if I can be of any further help to you."

Go Go awkwardly stood there for a second. She never really was one to have face-to-faces with the dean; it made her a little self-conscious. Callaghan had been a lot more interactive with everyone's projects; Granville was more likely to just hover over you until you either finished or ran away from nerves.

"I do have something that I wish to mention, Ms. Tanaka."

Granville held out the hand with the envelopes. "It appears that someone really wanted to get in contact with you. So much so, in fact, that they bombarded the school mailbox with their letters. In all of the preparation for graduation, giving these to you had slipped my mind. I do not know what they contain, but I figure that they would be better off with you than myself."

"Oh. Thanks." She took them and examined the top one closely. It didn't look out of the ordinary, sans for the lack of a return address-

Wait. That _was_ out of the ordinary.

She slid her finger underneath the flap and brought the paper out.

Go Go gasped.

In a flash, she had opened all of the others. She was now staring at six separate invitations. All with the same background. All with the same lettering.

All with her name right on top.

She whirled her head around to see that she was now alone in the hallway. She ran to the corner and took it sharply; it was a good thing Granville hadn't made it back to her office yet.

"Professor!"

The dean turned back around to see her former student stopping right in front of her. "Is something the matter, Ms. Tanaka?"

Go Go didn't speak right away. She wasn't exactly sure how to explain her predicament. She wasn't in the mood to let anyone into the loop just yet. But this was Granville, not one of her friends. She wouldn't know anything about it...right?

"What do you make of this?" She thrust one of the papers in her hands. Granville took it and stared down for a second, her brow furrowed.

"Well?"

The dean looked up at her, her face unreadable. After a moment, her mouth broke out into a small grin. "Ms. Tanaka, I would think that someone would have better things to do with their time than send you these unsolicited letters. At the very least, they should put some sort of writing on it." She handed it back to a bewildered Go Go. "Prank mail went out of style long before you were born. Perhaps someone is trying to bring it back. I would give it no mind." She turned to the door and was just about to walk through when Go Go found her voice again.

"Do you know anything about something called the Hell Race?"

Granville's hand stopped right over the handle. She tilted her head back to the Korean with a very stern expression. She turned her body to fully face her.

"You do, don't you?" Go Go asked. "You know about it."

"I know _of_ it."

The dean leaned up against the door, uncharacteristically somber. "When I was first began my career here at the institute, I had just turned twenty-four. I became a teaching assistant to the thermodynamics professor at the time. There was a student that I tutored as part of my duties in the class. He was very bright, if not a little scatterbrained. He also had a penchant for fast cars and motorcycles, much like yourself." She looked up to the right, trying to remember the details. "His father had died in some sort of stunt accident gone wrong, and his mother had left the family some time before that. He tried his best with everything, but I always felt he was one step behind. I made it my duty to make sure he excelled with his studies."

"Because you liked him."

Granville's eyes came down on Go Go, who had the tiniest of smirks on her face. "You have that look that Hiro gets when he thinks about Karmi. It's...weird to see that with you."

She couldn't help but return her former student's smile. "I will admit that there was certainly an air about him. What girl does not want the feel of the wind whipping through your hair as you head off to places unknown? I am sure that you feel the same way about Mr. Reyes."

Go Go recoiled as she felt her cheeks start to burn.

"You are not the only person who can perform psychoanalysis, Ms. Tanaka. But in any case..." Granville straightened back up. "Yes, I certainly harbored feelings for him, but as his tutor and four years his senior, I told myself that it would be rather inappropriate to go down that road. So, I did not."

"Professor, I don't mean to interrupt your soap opera," Go Go cut in, "But what does this have to do with anything?"

"One day, towards the end of the semester, he came to me rather excited. He had received some sort of invitation to a bike race that he believed he could win. He said he would use the money to try to find his mother. He showed me a blank piece of paper, just like you did before. I was rather confused about the whole thing, but seeing him excited made me happy, so I dismissed it."

Go Go's blood ran cold. She didn't like where this was going.

"That day...was the last time I ever saw him."

Granville wiped her eye. "I was told that his landlord entered his apartment a week later to see everything had been cleared out. No furnishings, no trace that he had ever been there. Authorities were summoned, and a search was conducted, but after a few days it was called off. It was like...he had never existed."

"I'm sorry."

She let out a deep breath. "I am convinced that this race had something to do with his disappearance. I've never been able to actually accrue any hard evidence, only anecdotal. When I worked with Philip after my exit from SFIT, I launched my own investigation and we found a few others that also disappeared under similar circumstances. Again, we were not able to prove much, but I can safely come to one conclusion."

She walked up to Go Go, the sadness in her eyes still prevalent.

"This race, this contest...it is very dangerous. You must not participate in it. You-"

"Robbie got an invite, too."

Go Go found herself speaking up through her teacher's plea.

"And I'm beginning to think...that I got an invite for a reason." She folded all of the papers and stuck them under her arm. "Professor, I have to help him. If this is as bad as you're making it out to be, I can't let him do this alone."

"Ms. Tanaka, I already lost someone close to me to this infernal contest. I do not want to lose another. Or Mr. Reyes, for that matter." She stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder. "Promise me that you will not take place in this race, and you will convince Mr. Reyes not to as well."

She steadied her nerves, looking up at her face. "I'll do my best, Professor. But I can't guarantee anything."

"Yes, especially because from the looks of it, you are preparing to actually participate in the race."

Go Go looked away, feeling guilty.

"Ms. Tanaka, you are not my student any longer, so I cannot tell you what to do. But I do know how capable you are in situations like this. Thus, I will defer to your judgment. However, I do not know enough of Mr. Reyes to speak for him. Perhaps it would be better for his significant other to instill some sense into him."

"Professor, he's not...we're not..."

"Oh? Then maybe I am mistaken, then."

Go Go took a step back toward the lab. "I should probably get back to Hiro. There's still a few things I need to do to get my bike ready. Thanks again for letting me use the space, Professor."

"Have a good rest of your day, Ms. Tanaka."

As Go Go walked back down the hallway, Granville watched her go. After a few moments, she reached into her pocket and grabbed her wallet. She pulled out a thin strip out of one of the pockets and unfolded it.

It was a trio of pictures, taken in an old school photo booth. The paper was stained yellow due to the passage of time, but each photo was still clear as day. The first one had a much younger Granville was sitting back to back with a guy, both of them sticking their tongues out at the camera. He has a large leather jacket on with studs on the shoulders, his blonde hair slicked back over his head. Even though she was older than him, he still had half a foot in height over her.

The second picture had her face frozen in a laugh, the guys turning toward her in confusion. No doubt their posing from the first picture was too much for the young girl to handle.

The last one was simple, but it was the one that she remembered the most. She had her arm wrapped around his sleeve, her head on his shoulder. He was looking down at her with a wistful look in his eyes. It was one of the few times that he had let that tough biker facade slip.

It was those moments that she missed the most about him.

"Johnathon.."

Gathering herself, she set it back into her wallet and walked out the door, trying not to let the tears fall down her face.

* * *

The next two days were spent with Hiro working on the modifications to her bike. It was a lot of hard work, and it took almost the entirety of those two days to get everything together, but as Go Go slapped the last of the metal onto the cycle, she saw that it was totally worth it.

On the outside, the bike didn't really look that much different. It was definitely bulkier, with the added carbon steel sheets being put over the cover of the engine. The inner workings were almost completely different though. Her previous engine was good for deliveries across the city and the occasional trip to the woods. With the possible addition to treacherous terrain, she had to safeguard it the best she could.

"I'm glad you went with the carbon fiber," Hiro said, tapping the side of the bike. "You still get that speed you want, but it'll be a little more sturdy. You never know what you'll come across in the woods. And the slightly wider tires should help with gripping the road.

"Yeah..." Go Go trailed off. She was thinking about the next part of her list. It was the one possible hiccup out of everything, mostly because she didn't know how he was going to react.

Which was why, an hour later after dropping Hiro off at home, she still hadn't gone up the walkway to the giant house in front of her.

Go Go sighed, setting her helmet on her seat. Turns out Robbie wasn't the only one who found this situation uncomfortable.

She finally took the short walk up to the door, ringing the doorbell once before stepping back. Not even five seconds later, the door opened, and she was greeted by-

"Fred?"

Her friend was, for once, wearing his perfectly normal clothing. What was on his _head,_ on the other hand, was not normal. It was a replica of Captain Fancy's own head, complete with the over-the-top hair coiffed off to the right.

"Do I even want to ask?"

"I'm glad you asked!" Fred pulled it off with a pop and slapped his beanie back over his hair. "There's an all-day marathon of _Captain Fancy's Fancy Show_ , ending with a never-before-seen episode! I'm getting myself in the mood! You wanna join me?"

"I'll...pass, thanks."

He set the faux head out of sight and turned his full attention to Go Go. "So, what's up? You don't normally visit me unless everyone else is here."

Go Go scratched the back of her neck. Her nerves were getting the better of her, but she had already wasted enough time. She had to just barrel through. Unfortunately, Fred already had surmised that something was going on.

"Are you OK?"

"I...umm..." she stammered out. "I need a favor from you."

Fred stared her down. It wasn't every day that the most stoic member of the team showed up to his door by herself. But even this was a little creepy.

"I need ten thousand dollars."

Go Go had tried to shove that statement out of her mouth as quickly as possible. Unfortunately for her, she wasn't gifted in the art of word vomit, something that Fred was all too familiar with.

Fred stepped out of the doorway, giving Go Go the stink-eye. This is what she was afraid of; he'd start asking questions, and that's the last thing she needed right now.

"Fred, you know me. I wouldn't be asking you for it if it wasn't for a good reason."

"What _is_ the reason?"

And there it was. The question that she knew he was going to ask.

"I...I can't tell you."

Fred gave her the most serious look she had ever seen him have. The subject of money was a very touchy one for him; to his credit, he never flaunted his wealth around or put his friends down for not being rich. In fact, he seemed more embarrassed about it than anyone else. But he always kept a good attitude about it.

"Freddie..."

Go Go hadn't meant for her voice to come out as high as Honey Lemon's. She coughed and tried to lower it to her normal octave. "I will pay you back in full. I promise."

He was still staring at her, but he beckoned her inside. She followed him to the study, where a very ornate, giant wooden desk sat near the far wall. Fred pulled open one of the drawers, grabbing a checkbook out of it. He started putting down his signature at the bottom, Go Go patiently waiting beside him.

"You'll have to take this to the bank," Fred said, ripping the check out of the book. "And they'll have to call me to confirm the amount, but other than that, you should have no problem."

"Thanks, Fred. I really appreciate it." Go Go took the end of the check in her hand, ready to take it out of Fred's.

But she felt some resistance, and she looked down to see Fred's fingers attached to the other end. She saw his eyes still staring at her.

"Go Go, you know you can tell us if something is wrong, right?"

She didn't say anything and tried to pull it toward her, but Fred didn't let go.

"HL called me and said you've been acting weird ever since Robbie came by Hiro's. And you've been off with him doing something with him. He wouldn't tell me what was going on because he said you swore him to secrecy."

The shoe was on the other foot. It was someone else giving Go Go the diatribe.

"Go Go, whatever you're going through, we can help you with it. All of us."

She took a deep breath in. She wasn't going to be able to get around this. And Fred, she hated to admit, was right. Keeping secrets from her friends wasn't very becoming of her.

But she had to see it out just a little bit longer.

"Fred." She leaned forward a bit. "I promise that I will tell you guys all that I know. But I have to take care of one last thing after this. You...just have to trust me."

"I do trust you," he whispered. "I wouldn't be giving you this otherwise."

He finally let go of the check. Go Go carefully put it in her pocket. "Thank you, Fred. For real. You're a good guy." She bent her arm around his shoulder to give him a quick hug. "And I _will_ pay you back, I promise."

"Don't worry about it. Just do what you have to do."

The Korean made a break for the exit. She had to make good time to the bank in order to cash out the check.

"Go Go."

She turned back toward Fred at the desk. "Yeah?"

"Does it have something to do with Robbie?"

"...How much did Honey Lemon tell you?"

Fred's face broke out into a giant grin. "I knew it! You're totally going to marry him, aren't you?"

" _Excuse me!?"_

"What? Weddings are expensive."

* * *

An hour later, Go Go was sitting on her bike, right outside the San Fransokyo National Bank. She had just finished up her transaction with the teller inside, and just as Fred had told her before, a call was made to Fred's estate in order for him to give authorization for the transaction. The money bag was now sitting in the trunk of her cycle, filled with eleven thousand dollars.

One thousand from her own account, and ten from Fred's.

Yes, if Fred knew the entirety of what was happening in terms of the money, he would have probably called everyone else and tipped them off. But Go Go wasn't going to burden him entirely with the funds. The buy-in was one thing; what her plan was for the rest of it was completely different.

She pulled one of the fliers out and examined it. It had made mention of where the money had to be turned in, but she had never heard of it before.

"Deals With The Devil?" Go Go poked at her phone, putting it into her Maps application. "Sounds suspicious..."

On second thought, _everything_ about this sounded suspicious. It wasn't helping things that Robbie was _still_ not answering her texts. She was beyond trying to talk him out of doing this, even at the request of Professor Granville. She just wanted to hear from him.

"Boys," she muttered.

All of a sudden, her phone screen cut out. Go Go tapped the side with her palm. That was weird. Her phone was fully charged because of her holder. Did it go to sleep? She hit the power button to reboot it.

The map came straight back up, but instead of an empty search result, there was one singular dot on the screen. She squinted down at it, now thoroughly confused. There was no place before; why was there one popping up now?

And why was it up in the mountains past Kyotoakland?

Go Go took a look at the time. If she left straight away, she could go there and make it back in time for HL to interrogate her about what she had been doing about Robbie.

Robbie...

She snatched the phone out of the holder and dialed his number. She put the phone up to her ear as the dial tone rang out.

And just like the other times, it went straight to his voicemail.

Go Go growled into the phone. You know, he could be a little more grateful with what she was doing. Never mind the fact that he didn't _know_ what she was doing.

The beep went into her ear. She suddenly remembered that she hadn't left a message all of the previous times.

"Robbie, it's me."

...Too bad she wasn't used to making messages. She stared up at the lamppost as she struggled on.

"I know that you probably don't want to talk to me right now, and maybe it's somewhat warranted. But I'm..."

She paused, letting the wind blow through her hair.

"I'm worried about you."

Go Go sighed loudly. "Look, I'm not going to be able to convince you to pull out of this race. I know that now. So, as your friend, I'm going to support you in any way I can. And if that means watching you do something stupid for the sake of your family, then I'll do it."

She glanced back at her trunk, the mental image of the money bag coming into her mind.

"But I'll do it my own way. I'm not some damsel that's going to sit by as you go out and do something dangerous. Especially because I...I think there's more to this thing than you know."

She turned her bike on and grabbed her helmet.

"If you get this message, please call me back. If you don't...then I guess I'll see you at the starting line."

Ending the call, Go Go slapped the visor down on her helmet and sped off, ready for her trek out to wherever her phone was taking her.

Time for the final part of her plan to take place.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Apologies for the somewhat abrupt ending, but I didn't want this chapter to go on for _too_ long. Plus, we have some very important happenings going on in the next one, so I figured we put a pause in between them.

This chapter is also late because I was doing some last minute shuffling of my outline. When I was originally planning this story out, I had a very good idea about how to write the middle and end of this story. The beginning? Not so much. It's been somewhat of a struggle to write it, but now that we've gotten past it, hopefully things will be going a bit more smoothly.

You may have also noticed Hiro and Go Go talk about a therapy session with someone on campus. That may be a one-shot I write at some point in the future. I would at least have to finish this story first.

Oh, and as for Granville's "buddy" from the past? There's only one character that shows up when you put that name in the Marvel Wikia. That's who it is.

What can I say? Everyone loves a bad boy. Not even she's exempt from that.

The next chapter will feature Go Go finishing her plan, the return of Robbie back into the fold, and the start of the actual race. And just like I said in the last chapter, if you think you know what's going to happen...think again.

Read and review, if you like. Until next time.


	3. Deal With

_**Disclaimer:** Big Hero 6 is owned by Disney Animation. The two named people at the bar are also not owned by me._

* * *

_**Chapter 3 – Deal With** _

Go Go wasn't your stereotypical biker girl.

She didn't go out to bars. She didn't hang around with other people who rode. She didn't even drink.

Not because she didn't want to. Because the moment she turned twenty-one in January, Honey Lemon had surprised her with a bottle of liquor that her extended family had sent her all the way from South America. It was a dark green bottle with a cork top, the portrait of a bearded man on the front.

At least that's what she remembered when she woke up the next morning. She didn't remember much of anything else.

It was quickly surmised by Honey Lemon that she wasn't able to hold her liquor well. It was a fact that she found hilarious...and Go Go would have as well if not for the laughter drilling holes into her skull.

The point her mind was desperately trying to get to was that she didn't know what to expect out of this place as she climbed the mountain road to where her GPS was taking her. She had been driving for the past hour, the sun slowly starting to set over the horizon. She wasn't used to driving this far out of the city limits; she had only ever gone north to the woods, not northeast across the San Fransokyo-Kyotoakland Bay Bridge.

She didn't know how many people were going to be participating in this race. She didn't know where Robbie was. Heck, she didn't even know if this whole thing was just a scam.

But the look on Granville's face...she couldn't get it out of her mind. And she had that nagging feeling in her gut that she couldn't shake.

Or maybe that was the altitude talking.

Go Go ran her index finger over the handlebar, projecting the map from the orb on her glove. It was a good thing that she had connected her gloves to her phone before the trip; it kept her attention focused on the road and wherever this route was taking her.

And speaking of that...

" _You have arrived at your destination."  
_

The monotone navigation voice rang in her helmet as she turned off of the main highway. Her wheels hit the dirt side road, coasting her way down a small hill. She took a cautious glance around at the trees flanking her, as if she was expecting to get jumped at any point.

Maybe bringing a large amount of cash to a secluded part of the countryside wasn't the best of ideas.

Go Go looked straight ahead...and her hands squeezed the brakes built into the handles, the bike coming to a complete stop.

If she hadn't been looking for it, she would have missed it entirely. There was a small wooden building off to her right, completely off the beaten path. It appeared that it was almost built into the cliff face. There were a few other bikes parked in front of it, but it didn't look like there were any other people around. She couldn't see into the windows, the glass tinted dark, but there was definitely movement inside.

Yeah, whatever red flags had been raised in her mind were now being accompanied by a few alarms ringing in her ears.

"What in the world did I get myself into?"

* * *

"What in the world did Go Go get herself into?"

An emergency meeting had been called by the rest of the gang, who had been concerned about their teammate's strange behavior. Unfortunately, because of Hiro's imposed house arrest, they couldn't exactly do it at the secret base or at Fred's house. Instead, they were all cramped inside the tiny garage at his house, Baymax's frame towering over them all. Sitting in chairs in a semi-circle, they were putting their heads together to come up with an explanation.

And in the case of one of them...eating pie.

"Man, Aunt Cass makes great pie."

...Guess who?

"Freddie, can you focus, please?" Honey Lemon said as she wrung her hands together. "I'm really worried about Go Go. She's being weird. Umm...weirder than normal."

"So what do we know?" Wasabi gestured to the whiteboard as Baymax wheeled it over. "Other than that no one apparently ever tells me anything?"

"We know that Go Go was making improvements to her bike because of...something," Hiro started, pointing to a picture of her blueprint. "It was a bunch of minor stuff, but it took us two days to do it."

Honey Lemon circled her text with the spare red marker. "She told me that she was planning on going camping again this weekend, but she just went _last_ weekend. She normally doesn't have to detox in the forest that often."

"I mean, it _has_ been a pretty stressful month or so," Wasabi said. "Is it that improbably for her to want to take some time off?"

"She also mentioned that she wanted to take Robbie with her."

"...OK, that _is_ weird." He turned to Fred, who had just finished off his pie. "What about you, Fred? Has she mentioned anything to you?"

Fred looked quickly around the rest of the group, suddenly not very talkative. "I...umm..."

Hiro turned around from the board and stared at him. "Fred. She talked to you, didn't she?"

"Maybe..."

Honey Lemon wheeled over to Fred, grabbing his hand. "Freddie, if you know something, please tell us."

"I can't." Under everyone's stare, he kept going. "Because she didn't tell me. I _asked_ her when she came over to my house earlier today, but-"

"Wait. Today? She dropped Hiro off here two hours ago." Wasabi pointed to the timeline on the board. "So she went here, back to your house, and she's still not back at the apartment."

The four of them bent their heads down, lost in thought.

"This is all ridiculous."

Hiro stood up from his chair and stuck his thumb out at Baymax. "Let's just scan for Go Go and see where she it."

"Hiro, you said that you'd never use that except for extreme emergencies."

"I think this would count as one. And besides, if she's fine, then we'll pretend we never did it." Hiro glanced over Wasabi's shoulder at him. "Baymax, scan for her."

_"I have. Go Go is not available."_

All of their heads turned toward the robot. "Wha-what are you talking about?" the boy genius stammered.

Baymax poked at his volume setting and spoke again. _"Go Go is not-"  
_

"No, we heard you the first time. What do you mean?"

_"I have scanned for Go Go to the limits of my capabilities. She is not able to be located. In fact..."_

Baymax blinked once.

" _Go Go does not exist at all."_

* * *

Go Go stepped off of her bike, turning on the alarm with her glove. Even though there wasn't anyone around outside, she didn't want to run the risk of someone trying to get into the trunk. A few short steps later, she was at the door. She looked up to see a long, thin sign right above her head. The red lettering spelled out "Deals With The Devil" were a sharp contrast to the weathered wood they were written on.

"How ominous." Steeling her nerves, she pushed open the door.

The first thing that hit her senses was the smell of alcohol in the air. Blinking her eyes to get used to the dark, the interior reminded her of an old-time saloon. There were several round wooden tables strewn around the floor, every single one filled with three or four people. Some were playing cards. Some were just talking very loudly. But all of them had a glass or bottle in front of them, in various levels of emptiness.

Go Go took one step inside. You'd think that the doors opening would cause at least one of them to look up and see who had entered. Nope. No one paid her any mind.

There was a bar lining the left side of the room, the shelves behind it filled from wall to wall with an impressive amount of glass bottles, each of them also having a various level of liquor still in them.

She didn't see any sort of person in charge. _Guess I'll just stick around and wait for the biggest guy in the room,_ she thought. She walked over to the bar and saw an open stool near the end. She swung her leg over it and sat down...

"Oy!"

Go Go turned to see a man standing right behind her. His gray hair was peaking at the top, smoke billowing out of it. His green pants were worn and patchy, oil stains all over them. His stench reminded her of someone who had just spent the better part of a day working on a bike.

And maybe explosives.

"I don't know if you know this, love..." He jabbed his pointer finger down at the stool. "But this is _my_ spot. Push your tush off of it."

"I wasn't aware that you had your name on it."

"I do! If you want to take a gander right down here..."

"Nope." She turned her body back toward the front. "Next you're going to tell me that my shoes are untied."

The man bent down, hoping to catch her off guard...only to see the Velcro straps on top of Go Go's shoes. He looked up to see the smirk growing on her face.

"Clever girl..." The man leaned onto the counter. "Haven't seen you around these parts. So what's someone like you-"

"Look."

Go Go finally looked over at him. "I'm not here to chit-chat. I'm just here to-"

"A little bit of advice, love. Don't interrupt a lad when he's trying to have a conversation with-"

The latest interruption sent the man careening backwards, going through one of the old tables and throwing the occupant's card game into a loop. He brought his head up, dazed and spirals twirling in his eyes.

"Hooley dooley..."

"Anyone else!?"

Something had been creeping in the back of Go Go's mind ever since she had stepped foot into the building. It had started out innocent, like a candle flame or a tiny cut. But in the few minutes she had been inside, it had kept growing and growing. It was an emotion that she didn't let out that often, or was even that familiar with, but not even she could control it now.

It was pure anger. And it had boiled over into an electrically-charged palm thrust into the guy's chest.

"Anyone else want a piece of me?" Go Go balled her fist, a stray bolt flying out of it. " _Huh!?_ Just give me one good reason for me to kick all of your butts!"

 _Now_ she had the attention of everyone in the room. And if she wasn't busy seeing red, she would have cared a little more.

The man, unaware of her mental predicament, slowly got up off of the floor and swept the splinters out of his hair. "Well, that's a fine how-do-you-do!" He shook his head violently and started back toward her. "You need to learn some respect-"

Out of nowhere, one of the people at the broken table grabbed him by the vest and dragged him back into the ground. He cupped his other hand over his mouth and yelled out for the entire place to hear.

"Bar fight!"

Almost as if they were waiting for the signal, chaos ensued. Every person started waiting into anyone and everything they could find, descending the place into bedlam.

...All except Go Go, who had replaced her blind anger with utter confusion.

"What."

The sound of heavy feet hitting the floor came up from behind her, and before she knew it, a giant hand pushed her into the bar and out of the way.

"Hey!"

The low, booming voice stopped everyone in their tracks. The man that Go Go had attacked had another seedy-looking guy in a choke hold, ready to shove something that looked round and metallic into his throat.

"I leave for a second and you guys start trashing the place," the new arrival muttered. "Who started it?"

Approximately fifty fingers pointed behind him and directly at Go Go.

 _Oh boy,_ she thought.

The person now standing right in front of her was a giant of a man, towering over Go Go at his full height. He had to have been at least seven feet tall, if not more. Not only that, his gut was protruding out over the belt of his pants, so much so that if Go Go had punched it, she would probably just bounce right off of it. He was wearing a vest just like his companion, but it was about two sizes too small. He had two yellow pieces of armor on his right shoulder and elbow and a pad on his forearm. He also had tattoos all over his body, including a giant one entirely covering his stomach.

The most distinguishing feature, however, was the gas mask he was wearing. It covered the entirety of his face and almost all of his head, only leaving a short white ponytail of hair on the back of it. His voice was raspy as she stared down at Go Go, who was now beginning to regret not getting her emotions under control.

"Don't really see people like you around this place, girly."

She was getting sick and tired of being called pet names, but since his hand alone could probably surround her entire head, she had to tread with caution. "And I'm not usually one to go to a place like this."

He bent down to stare at her a bit more. She couldn't see his eyes due to the mask, but the fact he was blocking all of the sun from outside was more concerning.

"So what _are_ you doing in these parts?"

"As I was trying to tell _him_..." Go Go pointed over his elbow at the other person, still staring daggers into her. "I'm here for the race. To give my buy-in."

There was a beat where no one moved. No one spoke. Even the air inside the bar seemed to stop.

And then the giant man leaned back and let out a hearty laugh.

"Hahaha! Why didn't you say so, girly?" She slapped her back and sent her right down into the floor. "You have to speak up sometimes; people like Jamison need to get their ears checked!"

Go Go rubbed her head and winced. "I'll remember that for next time," she muttered.

He pointed back to the tables and stabbed a finger at the white-haired guy. "Jamison! Clean this up! And all of you...don't make me kick you out of here if you know what's good for you!"

The Korean felt two of his fingers pinch the back of her coat and lift her up, putting her on her feet. "Sorry about that. Every day, it seems like he wants to start trouble. Like I said, we don't get many people like you here."

"Like me?"

He didn't answer the question, instead moving to the other side of the bar. The crowd behind her started to go back to their conversations as Go Go resumed her position on the stool. "You'll have to forgive these guys. They can get a little rowdy now and again. But I just show them who's boss and they get set straight. I got a certain reputation to uphold here."

His hand went down to his belt and unclasped a flask that she hadn't seen before. He uncorked the top and took a giant swig from it, closing it up before she could wonder how he could drink it through the mask. "Name's Mako. I'm the owner of this place. You got an invite to the Hell Race?"

"Yeah. You send it to me?"

"Nope. I got nothing to do with that. I just take the money and keep it until the race's over. Speakin' of which, you brought yours with you?"

"Yeah. It's in my ride," Go Go said.

"I assume it's the nice shiny one out there?"

"Yup."

Mako snapped his fingers. "Jamison! Go get girly's buy-in!"

"Ugh! Why do I have to do all the dirty work?"

"Because I told you to."

Jamison grumbled as he walked out the door, but his eyes lit up as soon as he saw the high-tech cycle. His hand slapped down onto the trunk...and promptly flew up into the air, the electrical shock lock activating.

Mako glanced at Go Go, who was holding the remote to her bike in her hand. Smiling, she pressed the top button to deactivate it, just as he came crashing back into the dirt.

"Huh. Why did I never think of that?"

Ten seconds later, Jamison walked back in with Go Go's bag, his hair smoking even more than before. He slapped it down onto the counter and stared her down as he walked back over to one of the tables.

"About time you did something useful..." Mako pulled the bag toward him and opened it up. "Now, I gotta make sure your money's on the up-and-up. I got a certain-"

"Reputation to uphold," Go Go finished. "Yeah, yeah."

He grabbed a wad of cash and started counting it one at a time, every once in a while pausing to remember his number. Now a feeling of dread was bubbling up in her mind. This was the part where she knew she was going to maybe get into trouble.

"We got a problem, girly."

Go Go brought her head up to see Mako...staring at her? She couldn't tell with the mask. "What? The money's good; I just got it from the bank before I came here."

"Oh, that's not it." He pointed down into the bag. "You seem to have an excess amount of cash here."

"I know. The invitation said you accept side bets."

"Yup. We do."

"I want to make one."

She drummed her fingers onto the table. Now _this_ was the part that she hadn't told anyone, not even Fred.

"I want to make a bet about a specific racer."

Mako chuckled, grabbing a bottle off of the shelf behind him. "You can't put more money on yourself, girly. I _know_ that's against the rules."

"I'm not talking about me."

He brought the glass container down to the bar, once again staring at her.

"I want to bet one thousand dollars on me." Go Go sighed heavily. "And I'm betting ten thousand that Robbie Reyes will come in second."

Yeah, that feeling of dread was now pounding into her brain. It didn't help that Mako was definitely staring at her now. After a moment, he spoke up.

"I ain't got no problem with that. Your money, your bet."

"OK, then what-"

It was then Go Go realized that a lot of the people sitting behind her were no longer sitting. They were now standing right behind her, and right in the front was Jamison, a glint in his eyes.

"You...didn't actually think you could come in here with all this and just walk away?"

Go Go turned to Mako. She clenched her fist, ready at a moment's notice to activate her gloves.

"For this amount of cash, we require something a little...additional."

He leaned it, and she could smell his breath. His next sentence came out slowly, and sent a chill down her spine.

"Your soul."

* * *

"Your what?"

"My scroll. It's sitting right over there."

Wasabi picked up the roll of paper and handed it to Hiro. "Why on Earth do you have a scroll of Baymax's instructions?"

"I needed something to back up the digital ones, and I didn't have much on hand, OK?"

They were staring at Baymax's chest, going through his diagnostics on the view-screen. Hiro's head was now deep into the paper, Wasabi over his shoulder. Honey Lemon and Fred were sitting behind them, worried expressions on their faces.

"I don't understand." Hiro's eyes were darting rapidly down the page. "His scanning capabilities seem to be working properly. Why can't he find Go Go?"

"Hiro, is it possible that you broke something when...you know..."

The teen genius looked over her shoulder at the Latina. "No. The only thing I broke was the access port. Not the chips or any of the inner workings." He cast his gaze up at his robot. "Are you feeling any different, Baymax?"

" _I am as normal as I can be."  
_

"That's not really an answer, but whatever."

Right next to Honey Lemon, Fred was rocking back and forth in his chair. His legs were curled up into his body, and it appeared that he was suffering some sort of anxiety attack. She tried to get him to sit still, but he was putting up a fair amount of resistance. "Freddie, are you OK? You've been doing this ever since we tried scanning for Go Go the first time."

"Mmhmm."

"...Yeah, that was the least believable response I've ever heard."

Fred stared straight ahead to avoid her eyes. "I can't tell you, HL."

"Why not?"

"Because I told myself I wouldn't tell anyone. Because Go Go deserves her privacy."

He felt her soothing hand on his shoulder, rubbing it a little bit. "Freddie, Go Go might be in trouble. If you don't want to tell everyone, just tell me, OK?" She tapped the side of her head. "Just whisper it to me. I promise I'll be discreet."

Seemingly content with that, Fred cupped his hand and bent his head forward into her ear, mumbling a few words.

And then Hiro, Wasabi, and Baymax were thrown for a loop when her voice went up about six octaves.

" _Excuse me!?"_

* * *

"Excuse me?"

The tone of Mako's voice sounded like he was dead serious. The mask wasn't helping to decipher his true intentions. But the conversation had taken a sharp turn when Go Go found herself surrounded by the patrons of the bar with no way around them.

But a moment later, Mako threw his head back and started uncontrollably laughing.

"Oh man! You should have seen the look on your face, girly!" He wiped away the nonexistent tear from his eye. "It's been a long time since I managed to scare someone like that!"

The other men chuckled and walked away, Jamison being the last of them. Go Go scoffed at their backs, trying not to show any emotion. "Whatever."

He took another swig from his flask. "I don't care. You can put your money down on anything you want. I had some poor soul a couple of years ago try to guess how many racers would be left at the end. And I tell you what...that's the last time he ever did that."

Go Go hoped that it just meant he didn't run the race again.

"But why don't we spice things up a little bit?"

"How so?"

Mako put his finger on the counter. "I can give you good odds on your side bet. And if it pays out, you'll walk away with a very healthy amount of cash, if you get my drift. Win first but not your side bet, we'll leave things all alone. But if you lose both...I get your ride."

Go Go's heart started speeding up.

"You see, girly, I need to have a little incentive for this amount of cash. And you got a top-class bike out there. Something that every single rider who comes here would be jealous about. Worse come to worse, I can sell the parts for top dollar."

"Let me see if I have this straight." She leaned forward in her stool. "You want me to put up my cycle _in addition_ to the money? And if I win, I get it all? And if I lose, I lose it all? Sounds to me like the kind of bet only a crazy person would do."

Mako merely shrugged his shoulders. "Take it or leave it. I got a reputable establishment to run. Wouldn't look good if the house didn't get a fare shake."

Go Go took a second to weigh her options. It was ludicrous; any sane person would have walked away at the mere mention of possibly losing a ton of money on top of a bike she spent more cash on than she cared to admit.

But it wasn't about her. It was about Robbie. And as corny as the thought was, she believed in her abilities. She _knew_ she could do this.

She didn't know _how_ she knew, but she knew.

"Now I know why it's called the Hell Race," she whispered to herself.

"Hmm?"

Go Go steeled her nerves, looking Mako square in the eye. "I'm in."

He shrugged again as he reached under the counter. "It's your funeral, girly."

 _Here's to hoping it's not literal_ , she thought.

Mako brought out a small data chip and put it out in front of her. "You'll need this for the race. It'll give you the route layout for the race when you get to the starting line. Otherwise, it won't work."

Go Go carefully took it and examined it closely. "How am I suppose to know when to use it?"

"You'll know, girly. You'll know."

She got up from her stool. Her brain was completely muddled at this point; maybe it was time to finally get out of there. She set the chip in her pocket, but before she could head to the door, Mako held his hand out. Go Go raised her eyebrow, slightly amused.

"What?" he replied. "Normally, we close out deals here with a handshake. That's the gentlemanly thing to do."

Go Go paused for a second. Reaching her arm out seemed like a very bad thing to do, considering who was on the receiving end. But she just wanted to get out of there. So, she did "the gentlemanly thing".

Whatever that meant.

As soon as they clasped hands, she felt a fiery sensation go down her hand, stopping at her wrist. She yelped and brought her arm back. Right on the inside of her forearm was a small burn, clean and shaped like a ball of fire. She looked up at Mako, his smile so wide that not even the mask could hide all of it.

"Good luck, girly. You're gonna need it."

* * *

_That evening…_

It had been a long night.

Which was weird, because Go Go had walked out of the Deals With The Devil, it had felt like hours had passed. But she looked out over the cliff as she exited, and the sun seemed only a little bit deeper over the horizon.

She was spent. She didn't know how she got back to the city in one piece, because her energy levels were cratering.

That was why she had to make a stop before she got home.

The Lucky Cat Cafe would surely be closed by now. Even if it wasn't, she didn't want to possibly face any of her friends. So she had a back up plan.

The bell chimed above her head as Go Go walked into Joe's Diner. There were only a few people seated inside, it being long past the dinner rush. The owner was at the counter as she strode up, the balding man behind it wearing a white apron and shirt.

"Hey, Joe."

The man turned around and saw her. "Hey, Go Go! You're not normally here this late. Where's everyone else?"

"Probably asleep." Her eyes went up to the menu hanging overhead. "I had stuff to take care of, anyway."

"Now? Not many places open right now."

"Yeah, all except yours." She stopped suddenly, seeing something unfamiliar written in the far corner of the menu. "Since when do you guys have acai bowls?"

"Since the wife told me we needed to have healthier options here." Joe patted his stomach as he flipped the patty on the grill over. "They're not that bad, actually. Not too sweet, either. I had one earlier, and I already feel like I lost a few pounds."

"And you're totally not eating that burger to counteract that, right?"

"Nope. This is for some other guy named Joe."

"I'm sure," Go Go smirked. She started walking towards one of the empty tables. "Grab me one of those, OK? I'll be in Hiro's booth."

"Comin' right up."

The Korean sat down in the booth, throwing herself into the seat. Joe's was always a good backup to Aunt Cass's place, even though Go Go had only started going to it recently. She wanted to eat healthy, and was able to do most of the time, but sometimes she felt like a big, juicy cheeseburger.

Which undoubtedly would go straight to her thighs.

"Fancy seeing you here."

Go Go peered over the back of the seat to see who was talking to her. Sure enough, it was someone she hadn't seen in a while. He mostly kept to himself, but it seemed out of character for someone who looked like a stereotypical biker dude.

"Hey, Felony Carl."

He had one of the aforementioned burgers in front of him, the fries sitting right next to it. It didn't look like he had made much headway into it.

"What're you doing here?" she asked.

"Eating."

"...Clearly."

He took that as an invitation, so he got up from the booth behind her and slotted himself at her table. "Had to get away from my mom. She's giving Dibs the third degree at her bridge club. I found that I would rather run my head through the dishwasher than do that."

Go Go folded her arms as Joe came over and set a bowl down in front of her. The ice cream inside had a deep purple color and was sprinkled with granola and a few miniature bars of chocolate on top. "Tell me what you think of it. Wife makes it herself." He sat a singular cherry down onto the dollop of whipped cream in the middle. "Enjoy."

"Thanks, Joe."

As he walked away, she saw Carl eyeing her bowl. "I wasn't aware that you were one to partake in this sort of thing."

"Two words." Go Go grabbed the cherry and swung it around like a pendulum. "Honey Lemon." She gestured to the food in front of her. "I think I've eaten more exotic foods in the past year than in the other twenty years of my life."

"Nothing wrong with that. Sometimes it's good to switch things up a bit."

"You say that as you're wolfing down a burger."

"Hey, I can open my horizons from time to time. I'll have you know I tried haggis the other day."

"Really?" Go Go said. "Why on Earth would you do that?"

"Because I was at Darcy's parents' house the other day for dinner. And before you say anything," he added, seeing the grin on her face starting to widen, "The whole crew was there, even Dibs. I was not the sole person there."

"I wasn't going to say anything."

"I know you talk to Cass. There's no use hiding it."

Go Go didn't respond, but it wasn't for the reason Carl wanted. It had been right in front of her the whole time. Why had she been looking for advice from people who didn't have the background? There was one sitting across from her for the past few minutes.

"Felony Carl, can I ask you about something?"

"Haggis isn't bad; you just have to get used to the stomach part."

"Uh, no. Not that." She finished her bite of her acai bowl and set her spoon down. "I want to ask you about the Hell Race."

Just like Granville, the reaction was almost immediate; Carl's shoulders stiffened up, and his eyes went wandering in every single direction except for forward. Sweat started coming down his forehead as Go Go continued to stare at him.

"It's fine, Carl. I know all about it. More than I care to admit, really. And I'm doing it, so don't try to convince me otherwise. I just want to know if you've ever done it."

Carl looked down at his empty plate. He was definitely thinking hard about what he wanted to say. Go Go had expected that.

"I haven't."

But not that.

"But a couple people who used to be in the gang have."

He leaned back into the seat and stared off into the distance. "They were gung-ho and wanted to prove that they were tough or something. They came back afterward and they were never the same. Left the gang soon after that. Any time any of us would ask them about it, they'd clam up and ignore us until we changed the subject."

She poked at her bowl with her spoon.

"Darcy got an invite once, but she didn't go. She had gotten properly spooked by the others. And besides, she's more of a passive biker than anyone. The guys before...they were hardcore. It seemed like they wanted us to know they were better than anyone else. But we're just casual riders. We do it for the novelty of it. For the camaraderie. I guess that race changes people, and not even for the better."

Well, that was depressing, if not a little expected. The whole situation was becoming even more like a very bad idea.

"I'm assuming you got an invitation."

"Yeah," Go Go affirmed.

"I wouldn't do it if I were you."

"Well, I have to. It's not for me. It's for-"

She noticed that Carl was now staring at the front door of the diner. Hurriedly, he grabbed his plate and exited the booth. "I gotta go rescue Dibs from my mom. It's late, anyway."

"Let me guess," Go Go said. "A very angry looking blonde-haired Latina just walked in here and is about to hug me to death."

"Yup," Carl replied over his shoulder. "Good luck with that."

Before she could even react, two thin arms went around her neck, sending her back into the seat.

"Go Go! You're alive!"

"Not for much longer," she gasped out.

Wasabi chuckled as he entered the seat vacated by Carl, Fred sitting on Go Go's left. "You'll have to forgive her; she's been worried sick about you all day."

Honey Lemon's head came in out of the corner of her eye. "It didn't help that Hiro couldn't scan for you. We thought Baymax had broke."

"Wait, you had Hiro scan for me?" Go Go turned her head around. "Where is he, anyway?"

"At home. He couldn't come out with us because it's too late. Aunt Cass wouldn't let him. But he's fine." She unclasped her arms and walked around to Wasabi's seat. "We have a lot to talk about, Go Go. And we're not leaving until you tell us _everything_."

"Everything?"

"Yes."

Go Go glanced at the two guys. "You put her up to this?"

"She didn't have to. We're curious as well," Wasabi said. "You kind of didn't tell us much. And by much, we mean anything. We even grilled Fred and he wouldn't give up the ghost. Well, except for one thing."

She had noticed that Fred wouldn't fully look at her. Honey Lemon put her hand on Go Go's wrist. "Go Go, don't be mad at him. I made him tell me. So...I know about the money."

The Korean made a motion to respond, but she got interrupted by her vibrating phone. She pulled it out of her pocket and looked at the screen. It had her Clock app open and an active timer on it. It had just started from the maximum of twenty-four hours, every second ticking down ominously.

"Go Go, we're here to help you. So just tell us what's going on."

She looked at Fred, who was finally staring at her. Her other hand went into her pocket, grazing the chip given to her by Mako.

She had to do this alone. The race, anyway.

"OK. But you're not going to believe a lot of it."

No one said anything about the preparation being handled by herself.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** So I was originally wrestling with the idea of starting the race in this chapter. The problem, as you can see, is that this chapter had already gotten bloated with several other things going on, including the confrontation at the bar and the rest of the gang in the garage. I promise you; we _will_ get to the race next chapter.

Some of you have suspicions about what's _really_ going on in this story, but I'm not going to say one way or another whether they're true. Given the source material this is coming from, it's not that hard to decipher. We're going to hold off on that, however, until the very end.

By the way, the two named people in the Deals with the Devil? If you know me and the particular references I've made in stories before, you may know who they are. I thought they would be appropriate for this sort of story.

Had to throw a little Felony Carl in there, too. Can't have a biker story without the biker, now can we?

Again, the actual race _is going to start_ next chapter. I swear. Thanks for having the patience with me for the first few chapters. Now...things are going to rev up rapidly.

Read and review, if you like. Until next time.


	4. Better You Know...

_**Disclaimer:** Big Hero 6 is owned by Disney Animation. Ladies and gentlemen...let's ride._

* * *

_**Chapter 4 – Better You Know...** _

Go Go looked down at her timer. It felt like she was in a video game. When all the digits hit zero, something was going to pop up out from underneath her bed, or fall out of the sky, or come running up the steps at her.

It would probably be deterred by the sound of Honey Lemon snoring, though.

She laid back against her pillows, her eyes staring at her phone. The very busy day had started normally with a trip to Hiro's to have breakfast. Over the standard fare of eggs, potatoes, and pancakes, Go Go finally came clean with what she had been up to over the past few days: the talk that she had with Robbie about the race, working on her bike with Hiro, and her adventure at the Deals With The Devil the previous night.

Honey Lemon berated her for being entirely reckless. Wasabi was confused, not being in the loop as much as everyone else. Hiro had spent the majority of the time drawing up additional upgrades to her bike.

And Fred had sat there silent, not even partaking in the conversation at all.

She couldn't blame him, really. Even with Honey Lemon vouching that Fred had done the right thing in telling her about the money, he didn't want to tick her off further.

But Go Go had gotten over it. Mostly.

He was still a little peeved at him, but what could she could do about it at this point?

"Fred."

She had taken a moment when two of them had gone to get more food and the other two had left to go to the garage. Fred was the only one left, and his ears perked up as she said his name.

"I know you said-"

'Forget what I said, Fred." Go Go leaned toward him. "I shouldn't have made you lie for me to everyone else. I should have been upfront with you guys from the start."

"That's the thing, Go Go. You never said to keep it from them. I just did that on my own. And it...didn't seem like something you wanted to tell them, anyway."

She smirked at Fred. "Well, water under the Torii Gate Bridge."

"Isn't it that way?" he replied, pointing somewhere over his shoulder.

"...Never mind."

Next, they had made a trip back to SFIT, where Hiro got everyone involved in some more adjustments to her bike. Wasabi made some plasma-cut exhaust pipes, Honey Lemon checked her coolants and gas tanks, and Fred…

Well, Fred put in a call to someone.

" _Are the nitrous injections enough to get to the level of constant acceleration you want?"_

"Yeah." Go Go glanced up at the phone in Hiro's outstretched hand. "I'll be safe with four; any more and I'll probably blow out the engine."

" _You could minimize the amount of oxygen that the engine takes in when you activate the nitrous. That would confine any damage that would happen."_ The girl on the phone drew a large circle on the paper in front of her. _"That's what I'm thinking about doing with-"  
_

"Spider!"

Hiro turned around to see Fred hiding behind his chair, a rolled-up comic book at the ready. "Fred, the adults are having a conversation over here."

" _I am only about seven days younger than you, Hiro. I do not think that would qualify me as an adult."_

Honey Lemon peered into the picture to wave at the person on the phone. "Hi, Peni!"

" _Hello,"_ she responded. _"I hope that everyone is well. Are you all working on this project together?"  
_

"Yeah, Go Go's going to go kick some butt in this race of hers. And we're all going to help her do it."

"What _is_ going on in here?"

The entire gang turned to see Professor Granville poking her head into the lab, a frown on her face. "I was alerted by an alarmingly loud sound and wanted to make sure that the institute wasn't being robbed. I was not expecting you to be back today, Ms. Tanaka."

"Yeah, neither did I." Go Go wiped her hands on a spare rag. "But I needed to do some last-minute things. Never know what could happen out there."

"The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. You would do well to remember that."

"I didn't know that you read Robert Burns, Professor."

"Mr. Calloway, I partake in a lot of old literature. It keeps my brain and wits sharp in my advanced age. But enough about my pastimes. I see that we have a guest." Granville bent down at Hiro's phone. "How are you doing, Ms. Parker?"

" _I am well,"_ Peni responded. _"My college preparation course is moving along, and my fellow lab partners have only managed to set fire to one corner of the room."_

_BOOM!_

A plume of flame came out from behind her, followed by someone screaming and a paint can being thrown over her head. To her credit, Peni only blinked once and continued on.

" _Correction. Two corners."  
_

Granville raised her eyebrow. "Ms. Parker, should I be worried?"

" _I'm going to kill you, Miles!"_

Peni did turn her head this time for a moment, and then sighed into the phone. _"I should probably be going. I do not wish to have one of my friends deceased by the end of the day. Or...in the next five minutes."_

"All the best, Ms. Parker."

"Thanks for the help, Peni." Go Go gave her a small salute. "We'll talk to you later."

Granville walked over to her bike as the call ended, taking a moment to glance it over. "I've never actually taken the opportunity to look at your motorcycle, Ms. Tanaka. Ahh, to be young again..."

Hiro tapped a few buttons on the dashboard, completing his task. "There we go. The install on your navigation system is done. You should be able to connect to us when you're out on the road wherever this race starts. I also put the mic in your helmet, right near your ear." He patted the top of her helmet. "Reception should not be a problem at all."

The dean lightly tapped one of the hand grips with her finger. "I hope you have enough torque being delivered by your pistons to maintain your desired speed. Maybe your measure for counter-steering would help in such a matter."

She didn't hear a response, so she turned to see her former students staring back at her. "What? I am allowed to be knowledgeable about matters both fast and furious from time to time."

Go Go bit her lip. One of the things she hadn't mentioned to the others was Granville's recounting of the student she tutored. That was just a little _too_ personal to disclose to everyone. Even right now, she could see the look of worry start to come over her face.

It was that look that was still on her mind as the clock ticked past ten in the evening. The team thought it would be best to try to get some sleep in the case that Go Go had to head out early in the morning. Everyone had left the apartment that night in good spirits, and yet...she couldn't shake it.

It was annoying how much she was thinking about this thing. All of the circumstances surrounding this race would worry any sane person, but what was more worrying was her amount of worrying.

And the snake was now eating its own tail. Glorious.

Her phone vibrated, signifying the end of the countdown. She brought it up to her face, expecting to see the black screen with six zeroes, but instead she saw her Maps app again. There was one dot on it, just like before, and it was…

Wait.

Was it right near the bar? The Deals With The Devil?

Go Go moved the map out with her fingers. It wasn't _quite_ the same location, but it was close enough. At least she could get there without getting lost. She'd have to let the others know in the morning.

She set her phone on her end table and pulled the covers over her body. No use thinking about any of this now. Sleep was calling her.

But you know who _wasn't_ calling her?

Go Go opened her eyes back up.

"Damn it."

Her mind was once again back on you know who. Weird, she couldn't even get herself to say his name now.

But she pushed it away and stuffed her face into the pillow. One way or another, she'd see him tomorrow...

She just hoped it wouldn't come at a cost.

* * *

_The next morning..._

" _Testing, one two. Come in, Go Go."_

"Fred, how did you get the comm? I thought Hiro was there."

" _He had to duck into the Cafe to get something. I was put in charge."_

"I sincerely doubt that," she replied as she started the slow climb up the mountain roadway.

The sun was just barely seen over the horizon, and Go Go had to take an extra dose of coffee in order to get herself up in the morning. As soon as she left the apartment (under the watchful eye of Honey Lemon), she had sent the group notice that she was on her way to the race, giving them enough time to gather at Hiro's to set up a secure line.

The young genius had taken extra precautions in lieu of her going off the grid the previous day. The radio that was put in her helmet was cutting edge, with a gargantuan range that could reach to even the mountains. It was supplemented by the GPS installed in her dashboard, allowing seamless communication between her and the team.

At least that was the thought. They hadn't actually been able to properly test it before she set out. But hey, no better time than the present. Everything seemed good now, if the numerous tests done by Fred were any indication.

" _Are you seeing anything yet?"_ Hiro had mercifully taken the comm away from Fred.

"Not yet." Go Go noted her position on her GPS. "But I'm getting close. What about your end?"

" _No, but that doesn't really mean anything. We've never gone up that way yet."  
_

She looked down the road, not answering him.

" _Go Go, this could all still be one gigantic trap."_

"I know. And it probably is. But we can't take that chance any more."

A beep came from her phone, and she quickly glanced at it. "Hold on, I'm coming up on something. Just to be safe, I'm going to go silent. I'll comm in when I'm free."

" _OK. Don't wait too long, though."  
_

Go Go tapped the side of her helmet to end the call. The road was becoming increasingly thinner the farther she went. Strange, it was still the main road. There was no reason why-

A giant commotion caused her eyes to snap back ahead of her...and she couldn't believe it.

In front of her was a large dirt road, flanked by the cliff face on the right and a steep hill on the left. It was very similar to the place where the bar had been, so much so that Go Go thought that her map had led her to the same spot. In front of her was a giant crowd of people, each with their own bike. The sound of revving engines was now evidently clear; Go Go wasn't sure how she didn't hear it from a mile away. A couple of people, helmets balancing on their heads, turned back to see the new arrival, but just as quickly returned to their conversation.

" _So, you actually showed up, girlie."  
_

Go Go's head snapped down to her center console. There was a very familiar face fastened on it, the background filled with boxes of an enormous size. "Mako? How on Earth are you able to get into my system?"

" _I have my ways."_

"You didn't have your friend Jamison rig something into my bike the other day, did you?"

" _Nah, he wouldn't know how to do that. Only ride he cares about is his own."_

Go Go wasn't in a position to argue with him. She tried to crane her head to see over the crowd to no avail. "So, I guess I'll ask you. Is placement first come first serve?"

" _Nope,"_ he replied. _"Depends on the bet you made. Since you're Little Miss Moneybags, you get to be right at the front. When you get to your place, your map will confirm it."_

Mako cut out, and Go Go started the long trek up. She looked up to see some sort of screen positioned just over the front of the mess of bikes. It was not broadcasting anything at the moment, the black reflection showing the row of riders at the beginning.

She turned her head, taking note of all of the other people. She didn't recognize any of them; most of their faces had some level of tan, signifying a long history of casual riding. They all looked very much like normal people, but there was definitely something in the air. It was similar to the feeling she had when at the Deals With The Devil: anger, foreboding, general uneasiness.

"Well, look who it is."

A burly man moved out of the way to reveal Jamison standing next to a run-down motorcycle. It had multiple put-together parts, shiny metal orbs all on it, and even more cartoony smiley faces on it as well. He pointed both his fingers at the girl as she drove by. "See you at the finish line after I beat you, love."

"Ugh." She didn't even want to dignify him with a response...

WHAM!

And due to running into the bike in front of her, she didn't.

"Hey!" Go Go wrenched her helmet off, eyes filled with fury at the person on the cycle. "Mind where you're sitting, jerk!"

"You're the one who ran into _me_ , you-"

Both she and the mysterious person stopped mid-sentence. Mostly because they had recognized each other.

"Robbie?"

The guy slowly put his hands on either side of his helmet, lifting it off of his head. He swept his hair back and sheepishly grinned at the Korean, who was now glaring daggers at him.

"Hey, Go Go."

* * *

Hiro yawned as he monitored his teammate's signal moving across the map. It was early in the morning even for him, and Aunt Cass had instantly been curious as to his intentions. He had struggled to come up with an excuse, but thankfully Honey Lemon and Wasabi had come in with the save, telling her that they would be working in the garage on Baymax.

Which wasn't technically a lie, because he _was_ working on Baymax and his scanning mechanism, but not for the reason that she thought.

"Anything new?" Wasabi stared over his shoulder to look at the screen.

"Nope. She's still driving." He traced his finger on the path the dot was taking along the map. "But the signal is still holding strong...as long as Fred doesn't move."

Wasabi glanced to his right to see Fred balancing on one foot, a mess of wires dangling from his legs and arms. "I'm contributing!"

"That's good, Fred."

Honey Lemon walked into the garage with two cups of tea, setting one in front of Hiro. "Have you tried to talk to her again? She's getting pretty high up in the mountains."

"Yeah, let's try it again." He grabbed the headphone and pressed the button on it. "Go Go, come in. Are you there?"

He got no response.

"Go Go?"

Hiro tapped the side of the earpiece. "I don't understand. This is literally the strongest signal amplifier we have. Why is it not working?"

Honey Lemon's glasses lit up with the map on the screen, her worried eyes now cast on her dot. "Go Go..."

* * *

"I can explain."

"Yeah, you better start explaining really quick, or else I'm going to take your helmet and shove it down your throat."

"Ew."

"Sideways."

"How...would that work?"

"Don't think about it too much."

Go Go and Robbie walked side by side up to the front of the crowd. Having not seen Robbie for almost a week now, he still looked sort of the same. But there was a fair amount of stubble on his chin, and his face was thinning out on the cheeks, making it seem like he hadn't eaten or slept for a long time.

"So are you going to tell me why you've been ignoring my calls?"

"I've been working on my bike." His eyes went up to the empty screen. "For this race."

Go Go recoiled. "And it didn't come to your mind to even let me know you were OK? Or even alive?"

"I didn't know you cared that much."

"Damn it, Robbie!" She stopped right in front of him and grabbed the front of his shirt. "I'm trying to have a serious conversation here. We were worried about you, and-"

"Wait. What do you mean, 'we'?" he asked.

She patted her bike seat. "I had to get my bike race-ready. Hiro and the others helped me on it. They know that I was doing it to help you. And before you say anything," she added, cutting him off, "there's no way you're going to convince me to drop out. I'm doing this."

"Go Go...you can't be here. It's impossible."

"Are you saying that because you don't _want_ me to be here? Or that it's literally impossible?"

The two made it to the front, Robbie slotting his cycle into the spot on Go Go's left. "Go Go, I have so much riding on this. I can't do this if I'm focused on you."

"Then don't!" Now she was getting angry again. "Robbie, I can take care of myself. I've talked to people who know about this race. It's nothing I can't handle. And Rodrigo will-"

She noticed that Robbie's eyes were not looking at her, instead steadfastly going into the ground. His hands were gripping his cycle so tightly she thought the rubber on his grips were going to tear. Now she was having a gut feeling even worse than before.

"Robbie. Look at me."

He reluctantly did, but it was her forehead and not her eyes. Whatever. She'd take it.

"What are you not telling me about this race?"

The Latino sighed as he swung his hip over the seat and got into a riders stance. He pressed a button on the console and took a moment to collect himself.

"This isn't the first time I've ran this race."

Go Go blinked.

"This also isn't the first time someone in my family has run this race."

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"I have so much at stake here. Not just money. I have things that I've been promised if I win this race. Which is why I _have_ to win. Go Go, I'm begging you...turn around and go home."

She growled under her breath. There he was, being stubborn again. Not that it was foreign concept to her, but still. Never mind the fact that she had been considering leaving, if not for the large amount of-

"Hold on."

Go Go swept her gaze at the starting line. "Why did you follow me up here to the start? Mako told me that the people who paid the most get priority placement. That means..."

She whirled around back to Robbie. "How much did you bet for the race?"

OK, now he was _definitely_ not looking at her.

"Robbie..."

Before he could answer, a loud noise came out from the giant television above them. The two looked up to see a man's face spread almost across the entire screen. He had a clean head of light red hair, beady blue eyes, and a very unnerving smile on him. He stepped back from the camera and smoothed out his white suit, a shiny metal collar glittering over his green tie.

" _Welcome, one and all, to the 100th Annual Hell Race!"_

A bunch of cheering came behind her, but Go Go didn't feel like joining in.

" _Looks like we've got a nice batch of riders competing for the ultimate prize! But before we get started, I have to inform everyone of the guidelines. Me, the master of ceremonies, Mr. R. Cade!"_ A banner spread out underneath his torso with the name on it, flames burning around it.

" _The first rule of the Hell Race? There are no rules! You simply must be the first person to make to the end of the fiendish course. But I must warn you, all along the path are tricks, traps, and other things meant to test even the best of racers. And as some of you have been here before, you may think that you know what's coming. I assure you..."  
_

The screen flickered, and the smile slipped into something a little more menacing.

" _You have no idea."_

Cade waved his hands in front of him. _"Have a look at your competition, everyone. Just know that only one of you is going to win it all."  
_

Despite the uneasy feeling in her stomach, Go Go did look behind her. A lot of the competition were sizing up their neighbors, giving them a glare. She saw a few people with their helmets already on, one with a zipped up black leather jacket and a stylized skull over the face of it. Another person's helmet had flame decals on both of the sides. And Jamison was in the middle of it all, laughing maniacally.

" _Now, everyone was given a computer chip before the race. I ask that you insert it into your consoles now."  
_

Facing back forward, she saw Robbie slot his chip in, the screen on his console lighting up. She did the same, and hers did the same thing. After a few moments, a map came up on the screen.

" _Here you have the road map to success. The entire race layout, every single checkpoint, and the finish line waiting for you. Other than that, the world is your oyster. You can talk trash to your fellow competitors, see where everyone is in the race, and maybe even send some insults to their parentage...although I wouldn't recommend the last one if you're at the back of the pack."_

The man on the screen held up a small remote. _"Oh, and just in case any of you decide that you want to skip out now, let me show you a little reminder as to what would happen."_ He hit the button with his thumb…

_BOOM!_

A sudden explosion caused Robbie and Go Go to whip their heads around. The entire back line of cycles had blown up, sending their riders careening into the air. She could only watch in horror as one of them went over the cliff. Another landed on their back and didn't move, their body burning in flames.

" _That's right! As an added wrinkle into this special race, your chips can pack a little punch to your rides. So...use it to your advantage to race and not to run away!"_

She and Robbie stared at each other for a long moment, the worry in his eyes saying everything.

"Robbie. You knew this was going to happen, didn't you?"

He pushed his helmet over his head and revved his bike up, not answering her. She shook her head at him as she put her own helmet on. There was going to be a _long_ talk after this was over.

Provided they both got through it alive.

" _One last thing before everyone heads out. I thought that it would be great to have an...additional audience to cater to."_ Cade held up a cane with an eagle sitting on the end. _"So for today only, your entire race will be broadcast on the Internet. Hope your family is watching..."_

He pressed the top of the bird's head. Several holes opened up in the ground, and quad-rotor drones flew into the air. They started circulating around the group. One hovered right in front of Go Go, the lens flare shining at her menacingly.

" _And here's to hoping they won't watch you fail."  
_

Go Go snapped her visor down.

" _We've done enough talking. Let the race begin! Ladies and gentlemen, on your marks!"  
_

She flipped the switch to her bike to turn it on, both hands on the pedals.

" _Get set!"_

 _Just focus on the road,_ Go Go thought. _Win this race. Win this money. Make sure Robbie doesn't die. Make sure you **don't** die. Do all that, and you can relax afterward._

But for now, she was anything but relaxed.

" _Go!"_

Go Go's bike shot forward, the roar of the rest of the cycles following her off into the first turn.

* * *

_Back at the Cafe…_

Hiro was desperately trying to get the connection to his teammate back online. He had tried everything: rebooting Baymax to boost the signal, rewrite the program for the line. He even got Fred to stand on his opposite foot. But nothing had worked.

"I just don't understand." Hiro rubbed his brow as the others looked over his shoulder. "She's clearly on the map. She's still driving somewhere. Why is she not answering?"

"Maybe you did something wrong?" Wasabi suggested.

"No, I didn't. The tech I put in her helmet is specifically there for the comms. It's suppose to be able to work in a range of _hundreds_ of miles." Hiro pushed his chair away from the desk and over to Baymax, poking him in the chest. "See? Even Baymax's scanning capabilities are broken again. It's not picking up her signal at all."

_"_ _Perhaps it would benefit from an additional boost in power."  
_

"But that's the thing. I don't _have_ anything else to boost it." He pounded his head with his fist. "It would have to come from her end, and I don't even know if she knows the comm's not working."

He twirled his chair around to face his friends, but saw one of them was missing. "Hey, where's Honey Lemon?"

"I think she was trying to call someone. She said something about Robbie."

"But Fred, if Robbie's there with her, what are the odds we can reach him? The tech in his bike is ancient history compared to Go Go's."

Before Fred could respond, Honey Lemon walked back into view. She was holding her phone with both hands, and her face had a very solemn expression.

"What happened?"

She looked up, and Hiro saw the pure distress in them.

"Honey Lemon?"

"I...um..." She teetered on the spot. "I called Rodrigo's. I wanted to see if everything was OK on his end. Cuz...you know. Go Go told us that Robbie told her he has cancer."

"Yeah?"

Her eyes darted to the screen with the map, and then back to the group.

"He had no idea what I was talking about."

The boys audibly gasped.

"He actually hasn't seen Robbie for about a week now. He asked me if I could reach out to him. I didn't want to worry him, so I said I would." Honey Lemon took a seat back in her own chair, her hands shaking. "So when Robbie told us he had to help Rodrigo at the flower shop..."

"He was lying," Wasabi finished.

"Uh, guys?"

Fred had stepped away to look at the laptop screen. On it was a new window with the view of a giant dust cloud on the road underneath it. Hiro looked closer to see what was causing it…

" _Ohh no."_

Baymax saw what the rest did seconds later; the camera zoomed to see a very familiar purple cycle ducking behind some trees, the black jacket and white shirt a dead giveaway to the rider's identity.

"Go Go."

Hiro looked at the now incorrect GPS, the dot now halfway to the Nevada border.

"Where in the world are you?"

* * *

A young hare stepped into the middle of the road, lifting its head to sniff the air. If it could talk, it would probably speak about the incredibly peaceful day it was having. Maybe the other side of the road would have a nice patch of grass to nibble on…

A loud rumble brought it out of its reverie. Confused, it stared down in the direction of where it came…

And just in the neck of time, it jumped out of the way as the throng of cycles roared past.

_I really hope that I don't run over any animals on this stupid thing._

It had been about ten minutes since the beginning of the race, and that stupid smirk on R. Cade's face was still plastered in her brain. That was a really bad thing, because Go Go had to focus on what was in front of her. The mystery man had mentioned things about smack talk and checking your placement, but the sheer difficulty of staying on her cycle was enough.

The sun had disappeared behind a wave of clouds, with only rays of red light peeking through them. If she had time to focus, it would have been creepy and eerie.

Go Go shot out of the small forest, returning once again to a mountainside. Feeling the ground shifting underneath her feet, she steered her bike closer to the cliff. The last thing she needed was to become a guided missile down to the jagged rocks below.

The giant rumble gave her pause, and she noticed the road suddenly close off, a slab of rock coming out from the cliff itself. Panicked, she tried to see another way out...and saw a tunnel shift open a split second later. She yanked her handlebars to the right, almost taking a ninety degree angle into the newly formed hole.

A loud crash came from behind her, and she took a chance with a glance backwards. Most of the crowd had managed to take the turn with little effort, but a few were not so lucky; the burning pile of metal was slammed up against the rock.

Go Go tore her eyes away from the ghastly sight...just in time to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

And the road running out.

She swore under her breath. This was probably going to hurt.

Her bike shot out of the mountain at top speed. She looked down and saw the ground thankfully not a mile away. It was _far_ down, but not deathly far down.

_THUMP!_

The undercarriage of her bike slammed into the ground. She had tried to stand up to lessen the shock to her legs, but she felt her ankle catch on the pedal. A sharp pain went through her body as her bike skidded to a halt right at the foot of the mountain.

Gritting her teeth in pain, she put her foot on the grass and tried to put weight on it. Good, it didn't buckle. She probably just twisted it. It wasn't good that it was the same ankle she sprained when she was out in Muirahara Woods.

Go Go threw her visor up and craned her neck to look up the cliff. Shockingly, this wasn't the route she needed to take; the dust cloud from the other racers went off to her left and back around the rocks.

She slammed her console in frustration. It started stuttering until it landed on the placements. She looked down to see if Robbie was among the people at the top. Nope. He wasn't on the screen. But she _could_ see her placement start to crater down to near the bottom.

"You got a long way to go, Leiko." She tuned her bike toward the cliff. "You can still catch up. You can do this."

She revved up her engine, ready to climb back up to the road.

"You have to."

Her gloves began to spark as it powered up the engine. The bike lurched forward and hit the cliff, the angle perfect for it to catapult itself up to the tail end of the crowd.

"Sorry, boys!"

Her bike went flying through the air, ironically going over the head of Jamison, who could only stare up at her with wide eyes.

Go Go smirked underneath her helmet as she landed right in front of him. The stupid look on his face almost made up for the fact that she was in a death race.

A minute later, the road straightened out down a hill, giving Go Go the tiniest of breathers. She had managed to gain enough distance to find herself alone on the road, but it was a double-edged sword since she didn't see anyone ahead either. No matter; at least could catch her breath.

She tapped the side of her helmet, trying to establish a connection with Hiro. Unfortunately, all she got was static. It was the same every time she had tried. It had worked so flawlessly on her way up there, but she wasn't sure why it wasn't working now. Maybe it was the same thing that plagued her at the bar.

A drone came into her vision, the lens adjusting on her face. Frustrated, she tried to wave it away, but it kept hovering in front of her. It was so strange; for someone who seemed like a control freak, this R. Cade character hadn't shown up on her feed. You'd think he would want to comment on her disaster down the hill.

"I don't have time for this." She waved her hand at it. "Go away!"

The drone shot forward and rammed into its helmet, almost sending Go Go swerving off the road. Now losing her cool, she swung her fist at it, but it glided out of the way. She held up her palm to cover her face...and the glove that was still activated shot a bolt of lightning out of it. It hit the drone mid-flight, causing it to short-circuit and fall to the ground, shattering into a million pieces behind her.

Go Go gasped, the electricity jumping between her fingers. Maybe…

Her fingers went back to her helmet, pushing a little bit of power into the comm.

"Guys? Can you hear me?"

* * *

" _Guys?"_

The gang had seen the broadcast of their friend going down the road. The website that had appeared had only been established that morning, as Hiro saw in the meta-data, but the other information was actively changing before their eyes, so it couldn't be used in any way.

In fact, there wasn't much they could do except watch as Go Go destroyed the only means of them viewing her status.

They were _so_ transfixed by their predicament, in fact, that Hiro almost didn't hear the earpiece squawk with Go Go's voice, crackling over the static.

" _Guys?"_

Hiro's head swung around so fast he cracked his neck. Rubbing his head, he reached out his hand, grabbed the mic, and slapped it on. "Go Go! Are you there?"

" _Yeah, I'm here. But I don't know for how long. I'm beefing up the link with my gloves, and I don't want to burn my hand off."_

He lifted his head up, the breakthrough coming together in his mind. "The gloves..."

"Hiro, is she OK?"

"Sounds like she is, Wasabi." Hiro typed a few things into the computer, the data scrolling across the screen. "Go Go, whatever is blocking your comm with us can be circumvented with the added boost with your gloves. Have you talked to Robbie yet?"

* * *

"At the beginning, but I have no idea where he is. I can try reaching out to him on this stupid chip thing (she briefly looked down at her console), but I'd rather not have our conversations out there in the open."

Go Go could almost feel the look of realization come over the comm. _"Then don't do it through the normal one."_

"Huh?"

There was a commotion on the other end, and she heard Honey Lemon speak up. "Robbie's got those gloves too. Maybe use yours in conjunction with his to form a secure link."

"I don't even know if he _has_ a mic in his helmet."

Another rumbling, and Fred came on. _"I don't have anything to add. I just wanted to join in."  
_

"Ugh."

Now it was Wasabi. _"Yeah, he does. Aspen mentioned it when he drove her over to Hiro's house."  
_

"So let me see if I have this straight." Go Go saw the road start to wind and bend again up ahead. "You want me to route the link through our tech in the gloves? Is that even going to work?"

" _Logistically, yes. It should."_ Hiro was back on the line. _"At the very least, you can find him wherever he is."  
_

"OK, I'll try it in a second. But something's really screwy with this whole thing. I think-"

The road suddenly bent sharply to the right, and Go Go almost didn't notice. She wrenched her bike to the right, narrowly avoiding the suddenly appearing steel wall. She slammed her palm against her helmet. "R. Cade! It's the guy who's running this thing! Find out what you can about him!"

* * *

The five residents of the garage all turned to each other, confused.

"Why would Go Go want to know about arcades?"

"Dunno, Fred, but she wouldn't tell us that unless it was important." Hiro turned to his robot. "Baymax, do you have the place she pinged us from?"

His screen came up with a 3D map, along with a dot near the edge of a mountain range. _"She was transmitting from this location."_

"Good, that's at least something. Everyone else…"

Hiro brought up the feed he saved from the beginning of the race, the video stopping on the giant screen.

"Let's see what this R. Cade guy is all about."

* * *

_Thirty minutes later…_

Go Go had never been more tired in her entire life.

The sheer amount of concentration that was required to focus on the road was more than anything she had to use before. And that was just the _road_. When Cade had mentioned about stumbles along the way, he wasn't joking. False floors, hidden passageways, obstacles of every size, shape, and geological formation.

And fire. A _lot_ of fire.

Up mountains. Down mountains. Through forests. There was even a small town that the race ran through, but in the twenty seconds that it took her to go through it, it felt oddly deserted and dreary.

It had been so treacherous that attempting to contact Robbie had gone out of her mind. But maybe now was a good time.

Go Go's eyes went to her rear view mirror to check the road...and she gasped.

There it was again. There was a biker behind her. It had been the one with the flame decals on the helmet, his hands gripping the ape-hangar handlebars with relative ease. Every time she thought she had a break, he would appear. And then every time she looked again...he would be gone.

Or at least she assumed he was an actual "he". Even in a life-threatening situation like this, she didn't want to judge.

She stole a look at the mirror again. Yup, gone again. It would be creepy if it wasn't so-

Go Go never saw the tripwire in the road until she rode through it.

An earth-shattering explosion rocked the entire road. The shockwave caught the tail end of her bike, and because she was riding so fast through it, it lifted her back wheel up, sending the rider flying through the air into a nearby tree.

_WHAM!_

Her back slammed into the trunk, knocking all of the air out of her lungs. She heard her bike go sliding by her, digging a long trench into the soil. But her focus now was on stopping the ringing in her ears.

And that her spine wasn't broken in half.

Go Go pressed her palm into the ground and pushed herself up to a sitting position. That was a start. She poked at her ribcage and instantly regretted it. It felt like it was broken. To be frank, she was lucky that was all. She could have been killed.

"You are one touch cookie, love. I'll give you that."

A loud crunch of a twig caused her took to look up. A man was now standing right in front of her, a detonator in his hands. The gray smoking hair was an instant giveaway.

"Jamison."

He chuckled as a few more people stepped out of the shadows. "Not really talkative now that you're the one on the ground, are you?"

"So this is what it's about?" Go Go braced her back against the tree, straightening her feet to stand up fully. "I hurt your feelings at the bar, so you think that's justification to blow me up? Don't you have a race to win? You don't want the money?"

Jamison sneered leaned into her face. "To some people, it's all about the money. To me...it's more about the chase. Cleaning out the competition, if you will."

The beginning of the race came flooding back into her mind, and she gasped loudly. "Those guys at the back of the crowd. You blew them up. You killed those innocent people. I'm gonna-"

She took one step forward, ready to sock him in the face, but a loud click came from beneath her feet. She looked down and her eyes widened at the mine she hadn't seen...and armed.

"A couple things, love." Jamison held up two fingers. "One, don't act like you're innocent in all this. Your kind think that you're the perfect specimen who can do no wrong. Who can come into this race and outperform everyone else. You never stopped to think why you're here to begin with."

"My 'kind'?"

He didn't elaborate on that point, instead moving on. "And two? I just put things where I'm told. I didn't set those things off. I only have one detonator..."

He pulled out a long silver tube with a singular button on it, his eyes never leaving Go Go's.

"And it's got your name on it."

"An accessory to murder is still murder. You may not have shot the gun, but you loaded it."

Jamison leaned in even closer, their faces almost touching.

"Yeah. You would think that, wouldn't you?"

Go Go's breath caught in her throat. There's now way he would…

"Boys! You got the bike?"

"Right here." Her cycle had been rolled up to right behind Jamison, one of his buddies patting the seat. "Ready to leave when you are."

"Good, good." Jamison took a step back and brought his hand up. "Sorry, love. Job's a job. Some of us have got to make a living around here." He flipped the cover off of the button with his thumb. "A shame, too. You might have actually won this race even with everything we threw at you. But don't worry…"

The thumb started to lower onto the button.

"It's nothing personal."

Go Go narrowed her eyes. She could try to jump at him and wrestle the detonator out of his hand, but she was outnumbered. Plus, she couldn't be sure that the mine under her foot wouldn't just blow up anyway. She was out of options and out of time.

_I'm sorry, Robbie._

The sound of a roaring engine pierced the quiet, causing everyone to look up. Jamison smiled and turned to the road. "Well, it looks like we got a straggler. Boys, see if we can't make this a two-for-one deal..."

All of a sudden, a giant plume of flame shot out from the road, hitting two of his men square in the chest. They went flying out of sight over her shoulders. Two more men started screaming as they were yanked backwards toward the noise, their feet dragging in the dirt until Go Go couldn't see them any longer.

"What in the bloody heck is going on?" Jamison yelled. "Boys!"

But no one responded. He found himself, in the span of about five seconds, alone with Go Go. He wildly started looking around, completely ignoring his captive. "Who's there? Answer me!"

The answer came in the form of a fist, connecting squarely in the face.

"Gah!"

Jamison's body staggered back for a moment, his irises twirling comically before landing head-first into the ground. The detonator had been suspended in the air since he had let go, but a new hand plucked it firmly into its grasp.

"You OK, kid?"

Go Go took stock of the new arrival. It was one of the people she had spotted from the beginning of the race. He was wearing all black leather clothes, the jacket unzipped halfway and a dark green shirt on underneath. His helmet was still on, but the decals of flame were replaced with actual fire, the embers flicking off his head and drifting upward into the branches above.

"Yeah. Mostly." Go Go glanced down at the mine still trapped under her feet. "Except for this."

"I'll take care of it."

She felt her foot stomp downward back onto solid ground. She saw now that the mine had disappeared, replaced by a patch of dirt. "Where'd it go?"

"Away." The man tightened his grip on the detonator until it broke into two pieces. Satisfied, he threw them onto the ground and clapped his hands together.

"Thanks for the save."

"Don't mention it." He pulled her bike upright and leaned it against the tree. "Now...get out of here."

"Yeah, I got a race to finish." Go Go spied her console. "If I leave now, I might just-"

"Nah, you don't understand. You need to leave the race. Get out. Go home. It's not worth it."

Her head whipped up to look into his visor. "Now listen here, mystery man. I'm glad you saved me, but I have to win this race. You can't just tell me I have to go home, especially after that. I'm not doing it for me. I'm doing it for someone else." She put on her best stare. "I don't even know your name either."

The man paused for a moment. She really wished she could look through the helmet and see what his expression was like.

As if on cue, the guy grabbed his helmet and lifted it up, causing the flames to subside. Now completely off, Go Go saw the full head of blonde hair, slicked back and flattened firmly on his head. It was almost the same shade as Honey Lemon's, but slightly darker. His eyes almost seemed to light up as he returned the stare to the girl in front of him.

"The name's Johnny, kid..."

He held his hand out, and his own bike rolled toward him and stopped under his palm.

"And I can't let you stay in the race."

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Yeah, so much for the inconsistent updating. Whoops.

But the _good_ news is that I do have a much better idea as to how this story is going to go. One of the new things is Go Go's savior above. I'm sure he will be useful going forward.

There's not really much I want to say here, except I hope the people reading this are still finding it entertaining. And if you do, I humbly thank you. We're going to ramp it up a little bit more in the next chapter, including Go Go finding out the _real_ real reason why he's doing the race.

Read and review, if you like. Until next time, everyone.


	5. Than You Don't

_**Disclaimer:** Big Hero 6 is owned by Disney Animation. I also don't own Johnny, Jamison, Eli, or any other mysterious characters that I haven't mentioned their name yet._

_By the way, have you noticed what all of the titles have in common?_

* * *

_**Chapter 5 – Than You Don't** _

There were few things that Go Go hated more in the world than being told what to do.

Lazy people. Chewing with your mouth open. Fred's constant ability to tell bad jokes in the worst of situations.

But _besides_ those things, she didn't like being told what to do.

So imagine her displeasure when she found herself in the middle of the most dangerous race of her life, trying to find out where her friend/boy/whatever he was at that moment Robbie Reyes was at, or whether or not he was even racing. And then on top of _that_ she had gotten jumped by Jamison and his band of lackeys, thrown off her bike, got a bunch of mumbo-jumbo thrown at her, and almost blown up by a mine of his design.

That alone would have been enough to ruin her day.

But now she had been saved by some...guy...who in the five minutes since he had shown up had told her to leave and not to come back. Well, this guy was about to get the third degree.

Because she was just tired of everything at this point.

"Did you hear me? You can't just-"

"Shh."

The man put his finger up to his mouth, his attention on the open road. He looked both ways before ducking his head back toward her. "Doesn't look like any one else is coming to finish you off. Guess it's your lucky day."

"Yeah." Go Go put a hand to her side, trying to further diagnose her injuries. "Lucky me."

She took a second to look at his bike. It didn't look like it had much tech with it; in fact, it resembled more like the old-school bikes she had seen in magazines. It had big monkey-bar handles, a leather seat meant for leaning back and not forward, and a couple of dirty tailpipes on the back. All of the tanks could been seen from the outside. On both wheels and the pipes leading to them, there were the same flames that had been on top of his head, slightly flickering in the darkness underneath the tree. She took a step forward away from the trunk to inspect it further...

"Ugh!"

Too bad her ribcage wasn't having it.

He saw her double over in pain. "You alright, kid?"

"Oh, absolutely," Go Go shot back. "Other than the fact that my leg is killing me and I think I broke a rib, just peachy."

"Let me see."

She didn't like the idea of exposing herself to some stranger, but she didn't have much of a choice; he was already next to her and kneeling down at her side.

"Fine. Don't get any ideas, though."

Go Go pulled up her shirt and poked at her ribs. She saw that there was already some bruising starting to form near her hipbone and torso. The man gently set her fingers on her skin. They were very warm to the touch, unusual for a guy that big.

"Yeah, it's definitely broken."

"And you can tell that how?"

"I've broken a few in my riding days. Here, don't move."

Go Go watched as he put his entire palm onto her ribcage. Her skin now felt like it was on fire, but in a calm, soothing sort of way. After a few seconds, he pulled his hand away, and to her surprise, the pain was gone. And so was the bruising.

"Whoa. How'd you do that?"

He shrugged. "Guessed."

She put her shirt back down, trying to put some more weight on her leg. It'd have to do; she had already lost valuable time. She hobbled over to her bike and turned the ignition on. "OK, well, I'm getting out of here. I have to play catch-up. Thanks again for the save."

Go Go revved up her bike and hit the gas, ready to pull out back into the road...but she didn't move. Looking up, she saw him with one hand on the front wheel, stopping her progress.

"Look, kid. I'm not going to tell you again. You need to get out of here." He pointed over his shoulder. "There's a side road that will take you back out into the main part of the countryside about a half mile down. You'll get back to San Fransokyo in no time. I'll see if I can-"

"No."

Several times during the week, her brain had been rattled almost to the point of a breakdown. But she had been strong. Even in her diatribes against Robbie and at the bar, there had been some control. Now...she lost it.

"I'm done playing games! I'm tired of being strung around by complete strangers, much less...people I care about! This ends now!"

Go Go jabbed a finger into the guy's chest, her voice now at her loudest. "You are going to tell me what the heck is going _right now_ , and I am not going to take no for an answer!"

The man didn't move. It would have been much scarier if Go Go had his muscle and about a foot more in height, but biology wasn't in her favor. Not that she cared.

"Are you even listening to-?"

She had her wrist grabbed out of thin air, and she found herself staring into his eyes. The blue irises shined down as he narrowed them in concentration.

All of a sudden, they started changing color. They began to get overtaken by red, and as she looked closer, there were flames starting to burn in them.

And then the most intense pain she had ever felt in her life shot through her entire body.

Johnny, the forest, her bike. Everything went out of focus as a flood of memories started to unravel like a Rolodex. One second, she was six, holding her knee after just falling off her first bike. The next, she was much older, laying in a hospital bed with her leg up in a cast.

Then she was eleven, kneeling down behind the counter as the puddle of blood crept toward her sneaker…

"Stop."

All the while, faces of the people she knew flash between the vivid memories. Hiro. Honey Lemon. Fred. Wasabi. Karmi. Aspen. Doreen. Megan. Robbie.

Robbie…

"Stop!"

At her exclamation, the world reappeared. Go Go dropped to her knees, her face pressed against the dirt. Her head felt like it was going to split open. The top of her hands were getting drenched from the tears falling down her face. Every breath felt like it took five minutes to perform.

"Huh."

She lifted her head slightly to see his boots grinding into the ground.

"Never done that before."

Go Go pulled her hand into a fist and pushed herself upward. The pain seemed to be going away gradually, so she wiped all of the tears off of her cheeks. Finally, she found her voice again.

"What the heck was that?"

The man bent his body down at the knees, still looking over her rather closely. His eyes had returned back to their normal blue color, which was good. Whatever _that_ had been, she wasn't in too much of a hurry to relive it.

"I was judging you."

What did _that_ mean? "And did I pass?"

She saw his hand come down, offering it to her.

"Something like that."

Having no other choice, she took it. They both got up off of the ground, Go Go rubbing her temples. "You got to teach me how to do that. It would be a nice party trick to do during my unofficial psych sessions."

"Trust me, you don't want it." His bike was back next to him, and he swung his leg over the seat. "C'mon. We gotta get goin'."

"I told you, I'm still racing."

"I know that."

Go Go reached out to grab one of her handlebars. "Oh, so you're helping me now? What happened to me leaving?"

"You want to win this race or not?" he said.

She only had to think about it for a moment. "Yeah."

"Then we don't have any time to waste."

With that, he turned his bike toward the road and hit the gas, sending dirt and pebbles flying toward Go Go's windshield. She hurriedly put on her helmet and sped off after him. She remembered that R. Cade's chip and opened a line between her and the mystery man.

"You don't need that with me."

Her finger paused over the button. The voice was as clear as day; it was like he was standing right next to her back on the side of the road.

 _Add that to the list of weird things happening today_ , she thought.

"So..." Go Go tilted her head at her new riding mate. "Johnny, was it? Are you going to tell me what's going on, or are you going to give me a migraine again?"

"Heh. Robbie _did_ say you got a mouth on you."

"Wait, you know Robbie?"

It took a second for him to respond.

"Yeah, I know about him. And I know about you...Go Go."

Her attention was still on the road, but she made sure to add a little bit more malice into her tone. "I don't like being kept in the dark, Johnny."

"I could tell you what's going on," he answered before holding up his hand. "But wouldn't it be better coming from him?"

She saw him motion through her side mirror and remembered what she was going to do before. Nudging her fingers together, she put her hand to the comm, putting a little extra juice into the transmission. A little static rang in her ears before a voice came over the line.

" _Not in the mood! I got a bunch of people on my tail!"_

"Hello, Robbie."

A second's pause hung in the air before he responded. _"Go Go?"_

"Busy?"

" _A bit. Give me thirty seconds."  
_

"You have fifteen."

The sounds of explosions, squealing tires, and cursing hit her ears, and she mentally counted down the seconds. As soon as she got to seventeen, Robbie came back on. _"OK, I think I'm free. Man, this is even crazier than me going to the grocery store on Sunday."_

Go Go stayed silent.

" _Oh, come on. It took me, like, ten minutes to think of that one."_

"Robbie, I don't care about your jokes, and I don't have time to waste."

" _But-"  
_

"No! I'm not getting interrupted any more!" Go Go shouted. "You are going to tell me what's going on, and in every single detail that you can, or else you're going to _wish_ this race messes you up more than I would."

The voice wave on her console went flat. She could feel Johnny's eyes boring into the back of her head.

" _OK."_ The reply was quiet. _"But I don't think you're going to believe any of it."_

Go Go cast a glance back at her riding companion and grinned. "You can put it in the pile of things I wouldn't believe before I started today. Now, spill."

Robbie sighed. _"OK. Here goes..."  
_

* * *

"OK, here we go."

We now return back to the relative quiet of Hiro's garage, where the gang had been doing research on the name that Go Go had sent them over the comm. Honey Lemon was busy poking at Baymax's belly, looking for any mentions of it on the Internet. Hiro had transitioned to trying to strengthen the signal of her gloves. Wasabi and Fred were flipping through the live coverage of the race, trying to spy Go Go on any of the other drones.

But they were all interrupted by the Latina catching a break.

"Guys, I think I found something." She pointed at an online article, the picture of a red-haired man at the top. "Randall Cade. He was a CEO of one of the largest gaming companies in the United States. One of his biggest games was called...Murderworld?"

"Oh, I remember that game! I wanted to buy it when I was young, but Dad and Mom wouldn't let me," Fred said. "Thought that it was too violent. Little did _they_ know that I had been playing Kolossal Kombat since the age of seven..."

Nudging past him, Wasabi started scrolling down. "Looks like the whole company he founded went under when an investigation found out they had stolen assets from a competing company. That, and the game was actually causing auditory and vision problems with young kids. Led to a massive lawsuit and payout to not just affected customers, but employees that blew the whistle beforehand. And right as the case went to trial...he vanished."

"Huh?" Hiro looked up from fidgeting with his headset. "Vanished?"

"Yeah. Pretty much off the face of the earth." Honey Lemon squinted at the text. "Without him, the suit quickly went through the courts and the company was liquidated."

"Fred, do you remember what the game was about?"

"Absolutely!" He stood up and put his fists on his shoulders. "It was an action-packed, adrenaline-filled racing simulator, where you race other people to the finish line, taking them out until you were the only one...left..."

All five of their heads turned to the other computer, where the race was still broadcasting on the screen.

" _That description is very similar to what Go Go is currently undertaking."_

* * *

Go Go heard Robbie let out a heavy sigh, seemingly resigned to his fate. Even though he could be miles away from her physically, she was still patiently waiting in his mind.

" _I'm trying to find out what happened to my family."  
_

She gripped her bars even tighter. "You said before that someone else ran this race? Who was it?"

" _It was my uncle,"_ Robbie replied. _"My uncle Eli."  
_

Go Go very carefully brought her pinkie and ring finger together. With her keyboard brought up, she typed out a few words and sent it along. Hopefully, Hiro would get the message.

" _When I was young, I remember he and my dad had this huge fight about this Hell Race he was going to go ride in. He had asked my dad for money, but we were already struggling enough as it is. He got so mad that he started throwing things around the house. He pushed my mom down the stairs and almost beat my dad to a pulp."  
_

A slight pause. _"Eventually, he just left in a huff in the middle of the night. I never saw him again. My dad said we were better off without him. And we were for a while."_

There was an uncomfortable silence after that, and Go Go was almost afraid to ask her next question. "Until what?"

" _...Until the night my parents died."  
_

* * *

He had gotten the message.

Now Hiro wished he hadn't.

Upon seeing Go Go's words on his screen, he made Baymax do a quick search on Robbie's full name. He added an addendum for any family members, and the first thing that popped up was…

Well...not pleasant.

" _Tragedy has struck the town of Santa Cruz tonight as police discovered the bodies of Alberto and Juliana Reyes inside their residence. Officers say that the bodies had appeared to be used in some sort of devil ritual."_ The blonde reporter stared right into the camera. _"We can exclusively report that the police are looking for the brother of Alberto Reyes, Eli Morrow, for questioning. At this time, he is not considered a suspect."_

Hiro looked behind him. Honey Lemon had her hand over her mouth, and both Wasabi and Fred had shocked expressions on their faces. He went back to the screen and saw that a photo had replaced the news broadcast. It had three people standing in front of an old classic car; the two on the left were clearly Robbie's parents, the woman smiling warmly in her white shirt and short khaki pants. The man had a big mustache and an even bigger smile.

And in his arms was a child. He couldn't have been more than four or five, grasping at something toward the camera.

The third adult did not share any of the positive vibes of the family on the left. He was wearing all-black clothing, and his face was thin and wrinkly. And the eyes… they were staring straight into the lens.

Even years in the future, Hiro was unnerved by it.

" _If you or anyone you know have any information, please contact the Santa Cruz police department. Donations are being solicited for their two children-"  
_

"I can't...Turn it off."

Hiro hit the Pause button and tried to collect himself. Honey Lemon's whisper had saved him from any additional gruesome images, but his mind was now on overdrive.

"OK." Wasabi spoke up, his voice back to steady. "Now we know why Robbie might be doing the race. But...I still wonder what Cade has to do with this?"

"Maybe Robbie thinks that he's protecting Eli or something. And now he's trying to get a location on him..."

* * *

"And you think R. Cade's going to give that up?"

" _Go Go, he runs this whole operation!"_ Robbie yelled. _"Of course he knows where he is. My uncle never came back after that day, and I need to look him in the eye and ask him why he did that to my parents!"  
_

"Robbie, even assuming you're going to get to the end of this race..." Go Go started. "You don't even know he's _here_. You could have just entered this race for nothing."

_"It won't be for nothing. I'll at least have the money. That way, I can..."_

He trailed off, and she clenched her fingers together. "You can what?"

_"I have to go. I have to focus on the road. Don't try to call me again."  
_

He hung up before she could respond again. Now even more frustrated, she grinded her teeth together. "That stupid idiot. Can't he see I'm trying to help? His uncle could be back there and we don't-"

Her brain stopped her mid-sentence.

"Wait." She and Johnny took a hard right as she started thinking again. "If he hasn't seen him since his parents fought with him...how does he know that he was responsible for what happened to them?"

* * *

"That doesn't make any sense."

"What's up, Hiro?"

He couldn't stop staring at the photo from the news report. Luckily he didn't need his eyes to pay attention to what his hands were doing. "I brought up the police report that was filed. A lot of it is weird." He pointed to a few fields at the bottom of the form. "The crime scene had no fingerprints in the lower level near where his parents were found. The entire room was scorched. The walls, furniture...everything." He scrolled down to a secondary report. "And Eli was never charged with any crime. He was hostile, according to these domestic reports. But they never found any evidence linking him. In fact, they didn't find any of his fingerprints anywhere in the house."

"That is weird. He lived there. You'd think they would be on something," Wasabi asked.

"Yeah. Fingerprints last years, and under the right circumstances, decades. It's like...he never existed in that house."

Wasabi scratched the back of his head. "It was a good thing that Robbie wasn't in the house at the time. The police would have found three people there..."

"Four."

The rest turned to Honey Lemon, who shot a finger out at the screen. "Look at the photo again."

They did so, and the now obvious detail was exposed. Hiro saw the woman's beaming face, her cheeks puffed up, and her hand patting her full belly.

Her _very_ full belly.

"She was pregnant."

Hiro turned around to face the group. "Has Robbie ever said anything about having a sibling?"

All four of them shook their heads.

He quickly took a look back over the reports. "Yeah, it doesn't say anything about Robbie in here. Maybe he was too young at the time. But that begs the question. If that's Robbie..."

Hiro pointed first at the boy in the man's arms, then at the pregnant woman's stomach.

"Who the heck is that?"

The boy genius suddenly noticed that one of their rank was missing. He craned his neck around Honey Lemon to see Fred going through some more pages on Baymax's belly. "Fred. What's up?"

" _Fred is currently trying to look up walkthroughs to the video game Murderworld."_

"Fred, is this really the time to be doing that?"

"I know, I know! I'm trying to remember details about the game. Maybe if I see them, we can help Go Go in her-"

His eyes suddenly widened as he found the passage he was looking for.

"Um, guys?"

"What is it, Freddie?"

"I...just found what I was looking for."

Fred enlarged the text on Baymax's stomach. "The game started out with you playing as the main character. Your...your parents had just been killed."

Wasabi recoiled away from him.

"And you have to run this race to find out what happened to them. The game generates random courses for you to go through, and you have to get to the finish line first. And you have to do that while everyone else is trying to run you off the road. The more people _you_ take out, the more points you get. And if you make it to the hardest course and win...you _become_ the boss."

There wasn't a single noise in the garage as Fred finished reading.

"It's an achievement that only a few people have gotten, according to this website. You get access to a special online club. A group called..."

* * *

"The Ghost Riders."

Go Go expertly dodged a giant hole in the road and turned her attention to Johnny. "Huh?"

"That's what the kid's heading toward. And that's not a good thing."

His bike pulled up right next to her, but she could still hear his voice clear as day. "Everybody gets in this race for different reasons. A lot of people never make it to the starting line. Even more don't finish. But every once in a while, someone is stupid enough to get to the end. And what waits for them there is not what they think."

She stared up at the straightaway ahead, saying nothing.

"From what I've heard, this race didn't have someone complete it for a long time. And then one day, a stupid, idiot kid came in and wiped the floor with them. When he finished, the only thing that was waiting for him was the thing he was trying to get away from."

"Let me guess," Go Go mumbled. "You were that stupid, idiot kid."

"Hmm."

The two rumbled past a few more cliff faces, and Go Go saw the remnants of a few cycles smoking beside them. She didn't have any idea where the riders were, and maybe she was better off not knowing.

"That's when I told myself that I would try to make sure no one when through what I did. And I did a good job for a while. But you can't save everyone. Not even punk kids who think they know better."

Go Go thought back to the beginning of the race and to something Robbie had said.

_This isn't the first time I've ran this race._

"Johnny?"

"Yeah?"

"Robbie mentioned that he tried doing this before. You know about that?"

"I do," Johnny said. "He showed up, all right. And then he found himself stranded at the start with a broken bike."

"And I take it that you had something to do with that."

"I told you, kid. No one deserves my fate. It's why I've tried to stop the flow of new people coming in."

"The flow?"

A sudden rumbling above them caused her to look up. The sun was blotted out as a giant boulder was rolling down the mountain right at them.

"Watch out!"

In a flash, Johnny had accelerated her bike and fishtailed right in front of her, helping her come to a screeching halt. Go Go's chest rammed into her console as her front tire hit the side of Johnny's cycle. Meanwhile, the boulder rumbled past them and off down the mountain and out of sight.

Panting heavily, she brought her face out of her windshield and tried to calm her heart down. She hadn't even noticed that they were back in the high mountains; the conversation between Johnny, Robbie, and the group had taken the course out of her mind.

She had _wondered_ why it seems easy for the past half-hour or so.

"You OK?"

Go Go wiped her brow on her sleeve. "Yeah. You?"

"Could be better." Johnny backed his cycle up to show Go Go the giant chasm that now separated them from the rest of the road. "But now we got a new problem."

She framed her hands in front of her face, taking in the now modified surroundings. "It's a long way, but I think I can reach it. I'm gonna need-"

" _Well, well! Look who it is!"_

Two drones came flying down upon them, each one focusing their lens on one of the riders. Cade's scrawny voice came out and rang in her ears.

" _I didn't expect you to get this far, even with everything that's been thrown at you! And you, Johnny boy!"_ The far one went even closer to the blonde man. _"I thought you were too old for this!"_

"Hm."

" _In any case, you two have managed to tick off quite a few people. In fact, I think they have something to say to you right now!"_

The drones flew directly upward, and they were now greeted to the sounds of rumbling again. Only it didn't seem like it was a boulder this time. Both Go Go and Johnny turned back toward the path they came from to see a large dust cloud coming from around the corner right toward him.

"...Oh, that can't be good."

* * *

"That's it. I can't sit here anymore and do nothing." Hiro vaulted out of his seat and closed the laptop. He had seen enough of the plight Go Go and whoever she was with were in. "We need to go help her. Let's go."

Hiro tapped a couple of buttons on his phone as the group walked out of the garage. He could probably connect the drone feed through his armor helmet, but he couldn't complete it until he was fully in costume. He started toward Wasabi's car...

"Where are you guys going?"

Aunt Cass's head ducked out of the open garage door. She must have just walked into their workplace to find it empty and investigated. "Some secret meeting or something?"

"Ummm..."

Fred came in with the save this time. "We're off to go see the special matinee edition of Kentucky Kaiju VII! They have exactly _three_ extra minutes of action-packed footage! I managed to get us some tickets in the front row. If we leave right now, we get an extra bag of popcorn." He looked up forlornly in the sky, shedding a tear. "And we all know how much I love popcorn..."

She looked down at Hiro, furrowing her brow. "I don't know..."

Honey Lemon stepped in front of him and clasped her hands together. "Aunt Cass, we'll keep an eye on him. It's just a movie. We'll call you before we go in, OK?"

His aunt still looked a little suspicious, but she finally relented. "OK. I guess I've cooped you up in this house long enough. But don't let him buy any candy. He'll ruin his appetite."

"We won't. Thanks, Aunt Cass!"

"Why does everyone think that I have an addiction to candy?" Hiro mumbled as she pushed him toward the passenger door of Wasabi's car.

"Because you do," the Latina said with a smile. "But we'll worry about that later. Right now, we have other things to focus on..."

"Yeah, because I just finished reading the end of this walkthrough." Fred scrolled up his phone with his thumb. "And I don't think you're going to like it."

"And the name 'Murderworld' didn't tip anybody off?" Wasabi quipped.

"Well, that. But I just read that there's a secret boss at the end of the game. And according to the developers, no one was able to beat it. There's an achievement attached to it too. Every time someone's fought it, they had their avatar change permanently. It looks like this."

Hiro took the phone out of his hand and saw the image on the screen. The only thing on it was a giant skull, flames twirling around the bone.

And there were no eyes in the sockets, a sight that made Hiro even more uneasy.

"Wasabi...let's get to the base."

* * *

"We meet again, love."

At the front of the giant crowd of riders was a bruised and beaten-up Jamison, the side of his face discolored by the fist that Johnny had given him. He cranked his arm around as he stared down Go Go, who had balled her fists by her sides. "Looks like you're at the end of the road."

"My God," she whispered. "You're just like Fred."

"I don't know who this Fred guy is, but I don't care." He pointed right at her, anger in his eyes. "Boys...let's teach her a lesson."

All of the riders around him started revving up their cycles, and Go Go glanced behind her. Now she _wished_ she was stuck between a rock in a hard place, not a giant hole and a hard place.

"You think you can make it?"

She looked at Johnny, and then back at the chasm. "I think so. But I'm going to need a running start."

"Then go. I'll hold them off."

"Johnny, you can't take all of these guys. At least let me help you-"

"Listen, kid."

Go Go stopped as Johnny waved his hand at her. "It's too late for me. I'm going to be doing this race until I can't ride any more. You can't stop what's happening right now, but you can stop him when you get to the end."

"Who, Robbie?"

"No. The main man."

Go Go stared at him. "Cade."

"Yeah. So do it. Save the day. Save Robbie. Don't let happen what happened to me when I won."

"...What _did_ happened when you won?"

Johnny got off his bike and cracked his knuckles, glaring at the approaching crowd. "Something that I wouldn't wish on anyone."

It didn't seem like she was going to change his mind. He had already taken a step forward and dug in his heels. She was running out of time. So despite her better judgment, she turned the handlebars on her bike, the engine roaring to life. She took another look at the gap. She could wheel around the crowd and probably use the cliff to propel herself.

"Go Go."

Even through her jacket, she felt the warmth seep through his hand. She looked up to see Johnny staring back at him. But instead of the soulless visions that plagued her before, the blue irises were bright and hopeful.

"Do something for me."

She blinked once. "O...K. You _did_ help me. I suppose I could return the favor."

Johnny glanced at the wide grin of Jamison for a second, and then went back to Go Go.

"Tell Grace..."

The breath that was coming up from her lungs stopped in her throat.

"Tell her that I'm sorry. For how it ended."

He let out a sigh through his nose.

"And I wish I could take it back."

_That day...was the last time I ever saw him._

Granville's monologue came flowing back to her memory.

"You...that was you she was talking about."

For the first time, Johnny's mouth broke out into a tiny grin. "Heh. She still remembers me. Who would've thunk it?" She patted her back. "But we wasted enough time. Get going, kid. You got someone waiting for you."

Her bike's back tire started to throw dirt up in the air as she revved it up. She cast one final look at Johnny as he got himself ready. She pushed the helmet firmly on her head, getting ready to hit the gas.

"Thanks, Johnny. For your help."

"No problem, kid."

The motorcycle shot forward, and Jamison fell backward as her wheel came within an inch of running over his foot. Changing direction, she shot back off toward Johnny and right past him, blowing up his hair for a split second.

And right as she hit the edge, she jumped up in the air, her bike coming off the ground and the tires hitting the wall, the momentum just enough to get her past the chasm.

As she drove away, Jamison focused his attention on the sole person in his way, his maniacal smile returning. "Didn't realize you were in the business of helping people like them, ol' Johnny-boy."

"I would stop worrying about her..."

In a flash, Johnny's head went up in flames. It was immediately replaced by a human skull, the bone scarred by the fire whipping around him. His voice change to a deep guttural growl as the crowd around Jamison started to step back.

" _ **And worry more about yourself."**_

* * *

_We're almost done with these, I swear..._

"Ready, Hiro?"

He stepped out of his changing room, slapping the helmet over his head. They had made it back to their secret base in relatively good time, and everyone else had gotten dressed in little order. But there was still something nagging in his mind. "Yeah, let me just try something really quick." He stepped up to the large console and tapped a few buttons. "Basemax, bring up the video of the start of the race from the feed."

" _Importing now."_

The shot of the beginning of the race came up on the screen. Hiro peered at the giant television inside the shot, mumbling to himself. Wasabi walked up behind him, shifting the gauntlet on his wrist. "What's up?"

"Does this look weird to you?" The boy genius pointed to the projection of Cade high above Go Go.

"Sort of. But that's what happens when you show recordings on live video. The resolution tends to tank when going through the transition programs."

Wasabi noticed that Hiro's eyes had widened severely, still staring at the screen. "Umm, Hiro? You OK?"

He ignored his teammate, instead turning toward the fully-dressed robot. "Baymax, can you upload the entire recording to Basemax?"

" _I can process it now."_

Several pictures started to show up on the console, each one showing a different point at the starting line. He started pushing them off to the left, his eyes going from image to image until he stopped at a particular one.

"See that?" He pointed up for Wasabi to see. The giant TV still had Cade in it, but the still frame had some sort of graphical glitch, his upper body tilted away from his lower body.

"You said it yourself. This is a recording. It's not live."

"That's weird." Honey Lemon and Fred had shown up too, all decked out and ready to go. "He was sure acting like it was live."

Hiro started going through photos again, this time more focused on the crowd behind Go Go and Robbie. He had gone through about a hundred pictures until he found something else.

"Basemax, can you enhance this vector here?"

" _Processing..."  
_

The camera zoomed in on one of the racers in the middle of the pack. He had a black leather jacket and a stylized skull decal on his helmet. But there was also something else out of the ordinary...a metal collar around his neck, shining in the rising sun.

Hiro silently pushed the picture from before and the enhanced picture on the screen together. All of their eyes looked up to see the same thing he did.

"He was in the race. He was keeping tabs on them the entire time."

Fred pried open the head and stared at the screen. "That's what happens in the game. That's one of the twists. The final boss was a downgraded rider during your race. And then you meet him at the end and..."

Hiro didn't let him finish; he was already halfway to the door. "We gotta get out there and find her and Robbie before anything else happens. Let's go!"

* * *

_Finally, for the last time, back at the race…_

She had tried to ignore the giant rumbles that she had driven away from.

And the explosions.

And whatever Johnny was throwing at her adversaries.

But she had to put it all on the back burner. She had to finish this race. And according to the map she had brought back up on her console, she was getting very close to the end.

The thing that was worrying her the most is that the farther she rode, the more refuse and wreckage she was coming upon. Smoking tires, burning metal. The smells were anything but pleasant. But about ten minutes after she left Johnny, and as she went down the mountain back onto flat ground, the trees began to part into a large clearing. It looked like she was running out of road.

" _You have arrived at your destination."  
_

"Huh?"

Go Go cut the gas and slowly coasted to a stop. A few times during the race, she noticed the sun poking out of the clouds and not the tremendously dangerous circumstances she was driving under. But now, the entire sky was colored gray, with none of the blue sky visible.

"Well, this isn't ominous or anything."

She looked down at her console. She was looking for something, anything saying that the race was over and that she had won, but nothing came up. She didn't see anyone else in her vicinity, not even Robbie. Could they be hiding or something? She pulled her helmet off of her head and set it on the seat behind her.

"I swear." Go Go got up off of her bike, stretching out her legs. "If you're hiding in a bush somewhere, I am going to sock you in the face."

Then again, she didn't have much energy left to punch anyone; the entire race had drained her. She almost thought about laying down and closing her eyes for a spell when she heard the sound of a tire rolling behind her. She looked up to see a cycle coming from the far end of the clearing. It was a white motorcycle, the color sticking out like a sore thumb under the overcast weather. The person on it had a black leather jacket like many others, but the helmet had a skull decal on the side. She recognized them as one of the people at the starting line.

"Hey. You see anyone else around here?"

The person got off of their bike and started walking toward them.

"Hm. Guess not?"

" _Go Go!"_

Turning back toward her bike, she heard the sound of Hiro coming from her helmet and put it up to her ear, the other side sandwiched with her glove. "Hiro. You there? Did you clear up the comm problem?"

" _Go Go, you have to be careful! He's in the race!"  
_

"What?" She leaned her head in. "You're not making any sense. Who's in the race?"

" _The guy who's behind it. He's been shadowing you guys the entire time! If you come across him, you have to get away from him. He's got a bright cycle and a skull on his helmet!"_

The realization finally hit her.

" _Go Go. Did you hear me?"  
_

She did, but she used the opportunity to wheel back around…

The helmet of her companion smacked right into hers, pinballing into her temple. Go Go went flying back into the ground, her skull now screaming with the onset of a concussion. She spat out a mouthful of dirt and turned toward the rider.

"Cade."

The man peaked up his bright red hair, taking off his jacket to uncover a white dress jacket underneath. He had a devilish grin growing as he stared her down. "Well, you did a great job of ruining everything. You were never suppose to get this far, Ms. Tanaka."

"Yeah." Go Go pulled herself up to a sitting position, the ringing still in her ears. "I'm stubborn like that."

Cade reached down and grabbed her by the collar, lifting her up to his level. "Yes, you are. Which is all the more reason why things haven't worked out. Your stupid friend Mr. Reyes couldn't even follow the simpleton map that I gave him."

"You...gave him a different map?" Go Go winced. "Of course. That's why I never saw him. With everything that I did to my bike, I should have caught up to him, even with all of the stuff you threw at me."

"You are quite an intelligent lady, Ms. Tanaka. Perhaps I underestimated you."

"Go to Hell," she spat out.

He pushed his face forward, his giant smile even larger. "Why go to Hell...when we're already there?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't you get it? This race? Your invitation? Everything that has seemed just a little...off? That doesn't have a logical explanation? Well, that's because it doesn't." Cade brought up his free hand and gestured it to the sky. "When I found out about the Hell Race, it gave me a new opportunity. A chance to start fresh from the life I had before. And now...I'm going to do it again."

He pressed a button on his collar, and a drone came in from above. "You see, winning this race brought upon me certain complications. I used them to my advantage: bringing in new, fresh riders like yourself, keeping the operation afloat. But now I need someone new. Someone who can help me take this to the next level. You can be the new face of the Hell Race, while I get to be behind the scenes and do what I do best...and that's being the real ruler of this place."

Go Go panted heavily as she was lifted off of the ground. "You're a psychopath."

"Why thank you, Ms. Tanaka. That is quite the complement coming from you. Now that I'm thinking about it, I'm glad that you got here and not that silly boy. You'll be an even greater vessel for what I have in store."

The lens of the drone shrunk, and Go Go saw the red light inside turn on, meaning the broadcast had started.

"Greetings, one and all! It looks like that we have a winner. Ladies and gentlemen, give a warm welcome to-"

WHAM!

In a flash, Go Go pushed her palm into his neck, the shock sending Cade stumbling back a few steps. Without his control, the drone went into the ground, which she promptly stomped her foot down, sending it into an early trash heap.

"I'm done playing your games, Cade."

Go Go shakily got back to her feet, staring daggers into the man on the ground.

"You're going down. I'm going to make sure you don't hurt anyone else ever again."

She balled her fists, the sparks now flying between her hands.

"And if that means I have to put you down...I will."

"Ahh, such repressed anger." Cade didn't look like he was hurt at all; it was like he was having even more fun. "Funny how your raw emotion gets out of control. I suppose that's what happens when you're in a place like this."

He got up and brushed his jacket off.

"You are only human, after all."

She blinked, and Cade had closed the gap instantly, launching his fist into her gut. Go Go went barreling back into her cycle, sending both of them toppling over. Her bike landed on top of her legs, pinning her into the ground.

Go Go dug her fingers into the ground as she tried to get her bearings. This was bad; she had to get out of there. But before she knew it, the man was right next to her. He grabbed the top of her head and turned her face to his.

"Now, as I was saying before I was so _rudely_ interrupted, let's get started."

His blue eyes, having none of the solemn solidarity as Johnny's had, started to turn red. She desperately tried to look away, but found herself unable to do so.

All of a sudden, his head got jerked out of her sight, and a loud scream tailed off back over her motorcycle. The pain that was starting to fill her head subsided, and as she felt her vehicle getting lifted up off of her body, she heard the best thing in the entire world.

"Go Go!"

Robbie's voice.

He sat her up against his leg and wiped the dirt off of her face. Yup, there he was. That stupid smile. The white stripe in his black hair. The look of utter confusion as he looked down at her. "You OK?"

Go Go winced and rubbed her side. "Took you long enough, Robbie."

"...I'll take that as yes." He bent his arm underneath her body and propped her up into a standing position. "That guy looked like bad news. We need to get out of here."

" _ **I don't think so."**_

The two looked up to see Cade back up on his feet, but something was different. Even with his interaction with Go Go, he had been in control. Collected. But now...there was nothing but fury in his eyes.

And the fire. Don't forget the fire.

A giant plume of flame had replaced the hair on his head. His cheeks and eye sockets had lost so much substance that she could see the bones poking through the skin.

Just like a skull.

" _ **Mr. Reyes, so glad you could join us! I have a special surprise for you!"**_

Cade took one step forward, the earth cracking underneath his feet, fire dancing up around him. He stared right into the eyes of Go Go and Robbie, who could only stand still in utter terror.

" _ **...Your uncle Eli says hello."**_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Oh boy.

So, you might recognize this as the "throw in all of the exposition because you didn't properly layer it in the earlier chapters" chapter. That wasn't necessary by design; I knew that there would be a lot of background here. I think I just underestimated how much there would actually be. You got R. Cade, Eli, Johnny, and Jamison all sort of rolled into one in the action ball that was this part of the story.

Now, people who have read my DeviantArt journal about writing more M-rated things will probably be a little confused as to why this isn't going to make my story rated M. Well...I think we've already gotten so far into the story that it would be too late to change the rating now. And I'm still trying to tow that line between T and M.

...It's a very thin line.

The astute readers will notice the character very integral to Robbie's background made a partial appearance here. And you're probably thinking whether they're going to show up again.

No, it's not Eli. And yes, they will be. You'll have to wait just a little bit longer, though. We have to get Robbie in his place first.

Read and review, if you like. Until next time, everyone.


	6. Give His Due

_**Disclaimer:** Big Hero 6 is owned and operated by Disney Animation. Intentional Harry Potter references are intentional._

* * *

_**Chapter 6 – Give His Due** _

"Vroom!"

The little girl was sitting in the middle of the yard, pushing the toy car into the taller blades of grass. Even though the sun had just ducked back into the clouds, it was still a perfect day for this kid to imagine herself in the trenches of her backyard, racing against the imaginary cars floating in her mind.

"Emma, sweetie!"

She looked up to see her mom standing in the doorway of the house, a dishtowel slung over her shoulder. "It looks like it's going to rain. Why don't you come inside?"

"Five more minutes, Mommy!"

The woman sighed. Ever the stubborn child, her Emma was. Guess she learned that from the best...

She took a look up at the sky. The skies were getting alarmingly gray by the second. Strange, it wasn't suppose to start raining for another hour. What could be-

A giant plume of flame erupted from atop the mountain on the edge of the city limits. She snapped her neck upward at the sudden explosion, a look of worry on her face.

"What in the...?"

The clouds then went black, blotting out the sun entirely.

"Emma, get inside now."

"But-"

" _Now."_

The woman bent down and grabbed her daughter's hand, leading her into the kitchen. She took one last glance at the mountain, now more worried than ever.

"Hey, Roxanne!"

She peered around the door to see her neighbor across the street waving over to her. He wiped his brow before putting the hat back on his head. "Crazy weather we've been having, huh? It must have gotten ten degrees hotter in the past five minutes. Feels like we're stuck in a sauna. Wonder if it's the humidity?"

"Yeah." Roxanne's eyes were still staring up where the flame had shot up in the sky. "I wonder..."

* * *

Go Go had seen everything at this point.

There was nothing else in the world left to experience.

The hardest race she had ever taken part in. Getting beaten, bruised, and scarred to within an inch of her life. Riding along with someone that Granville had fallen for all those years ago and having the whole history of the Hell Race being ground into her brain.

...OK, that third one was still weird in her head.

But this was reaching a whole different level.

R. Cade, the mastermind behind her being in the race to being with, had ambushed her at the presumed finish line, and almost did the same horrible, mind-wrenching thing that Johnny had done to her, but a timely save by Robbie had separated the two. But now it looked like he was no longer playing around, as his head had contorted into some mix between his own face and a skull, white-hot flame surrounding the entirety of it.

Go Go and Robbie took a step back, Cade's normal high-pitched voice replaced by a deep, demonic tone.

" _ **Hello, little Robert. It's been a while."**_

She felt Robbie take a sharp inhale beside her, his arm still wrapped around her waist. He clearly didn't like what he had said, because he was shooting daggers into the man in front of them.

" _ **I haven't seen you in such a long time. Maybe we should use this opportunity to catch up."  
**_

Cade took another step forward, and a ring of fire circled around and behind the two, blocking off their exit. Robbie gently sat down Go Go on the seat of her cycle, his gaze not leaving Cade. "Look, I don't know what's going on, but if you want a fight, that's what you're going to get. You're using my uncle against me, and I-"

"You don't understand, do you, kid?"

Cade's voice had returned back to normal, the flame dying down slightly. "Your uncle and I are one of the same. All those years ago, when you heard of him riding in the Hell Race...he won it. And with that, he won the ultimate prize." He slapped his chest. "A partnership that has ruled this race this entire time. And now that _you're_ here, everything is going to be complete."

"What am I, chopped liver?" Go Go quipped. "What happened to me?"

"Oh, you'll be along for the ride, Ms. Tanaka. Just as soon as I'm done with ol' Robert here." Cade held up his hand and a ball of fire appeared in it. "Or maybe I'll just take the both of you out at once!"

The ball was thrown right at Robbie, and his eyes widened as the flame barreled toward him.

"Robbie, move!"

He got slammed from his right as Go Go tackled him out of the way. The flame shot past them and harmlessly hit the rock face.

"Are you out of your mind?" Go Go yelled into his face. "He was going to kill you!" She pushed herself up off of his body and turned to face their attacker. "You wanna go, jerk? Let's go right now!" She ran toward him and thrust her left leg at his midsection...

Only for him to snatch it out of the air.

She looked up to see Cade's face distort into a demonic sneer. "That, Ms. Tanaka...was a very stupid thing to do."

Go Go felt her body being pulled into the air. In a flash, he threw her body toward a recovering Robbie, sending both of them backwards over the edge of the hill.

"Oh, darn." Cade smacked his hands together. "It looks like I'm going to have to go searching for my food for a little bit."

" _ **Enough!"**_

The madman stopped cold as the voice came screaming in his ears.

" _ **We had a deal, Cade!"**_

"Oh, we still do, Eli." He pulled himself back up off of the ground. "Just let me have my fun, and you can have yours." He pressed a button on the side of his collar. "Now, if you don't mind, be quiet while I finish what you started."

Cade peered down the hill. It was a much farther drop than he had anticipated, and he didn't see either of the two riders at all.

"Hmm. This may complicate things..."

* * *

"Why can't we get involved in mysteries that are simple? Like where Wasabi leaves his car keys? Or non-threatening ones, like how Fred can eat so much food and not get full?"

"Since when have we ever dealt with simple, Honey Lemon?"

Hiro didn't get a response. Not that he was expecting one; ever since they had started their search for Go Go and Robbie, Honey Lemon had taken over the role as the sarcastic, rhetorical one of the group. It suited her a little _too_ well.

" _Hiro, we are approaching the position where we first lost contact with Go Go."_

Baymax stopped and hovered in the air while Honey Lemon, Hiro, and Wasabi clung to his back. The swordsman had jumped into Go Go's usual spot at the first opportunity, while only Fred was hanging onto one of Baymax's arms. Hiro brought his glove up as he scanned the immediate area. "Doesn't seem like anything out of the ordinary. All I see is a side road with a bunch of tire tracks. That could be a place where we start, but with this many tracks, it would be impossible to tell where she's gone..."

Suddenly, his GPS started going haywire. Both Honey Lemon and Wasabi leaned in to see the map on the screen suddenly fill with white dots, blinking in and out of existence like stars in the sky.

"Oh boy."

"What?" Fred yelled from Baymax's arm. "Am I missing something?"

"Yeah." Hiro's eyes tried to keep up with the erratic flow of data. "A lot of something…"

%%%%%

"Ugh."

For what seemed like the tenth time today, Go Go found herself face down in the dirt. Having been thrown down the side of a small mountain would do that to you. But now she had the added problem of having Robbie careen down the mountain with her.

Groaning, she slowly turned her body so that it was facing up. It felt like a giant weight was on her body, but it was a lot more supple than her bike from before. She lifted her head to see the top of Robbie's hair, his face smushed into Go Go's midsection.

If they hadn't just gotten killed six ways to Tuesday so far today, she would have murdered him on the spot.

"Robbie."

He pushed himself up and realized what he was laying upon. He snapped his neck up to see the amused look on her face.

"Having fun yet?"

"Sorry," Robbie mumbled as he sat up.

"What were you thinking? You zoned out when he was about to flambé you! I saved your butt up there."

He looked down at her and smirked. "Yeah, and your butt saved-"

"Finish that sentence. I dare you."

"You know, there's only so many times in a day that you can threaten to kill me. It's tiring."

Go Go sat up and rubbed her head. The fall down the hill could have been much worse; her clothes had more scratches and holes in them, and she had a nice big bruise on her now-exposed knee, but other than that she seemed fine. "You OK?"

"I'll live."

Robbie pulled her up off of the ground, where she winced as she put weight on her ankle. Stupid thing was acting up again, but there were more pressing concerns at the moment. "Cade's not going to stop chasing up."

"You mean Eli."

"Yeah, I was going to ask about that. What was he talking about? Hasn't your uncle been dead?"

"I don't know." Robbie looked back up at the cliff. "I never heard anything about him after that night. But I do know that when he was living with us, there were a lot of times where he would just sit in his bedroom and mutter to himself. I was told by my dad to leave him alone, but one day he left the door unlocked when they went out to the store or something. I walked in and there was a ton of devil worship stuff on the walls. He even had some sort of altar in his closet. I was so scared of everything that I ran out and stayed in my room the rest of the day. Some of that stuff...it was so creepy."

"Seems like Eli got just what he wanted, then."

"What do you mean?"

"Never mind." She put her full weight on both of her feet. "The only thing that matters is that we get out of here. This Cade guy is crazy, and I'm not too keen on what he's going to do if he finds us down here." She pointed up towards the far end of the cliff. "I think we can make it back to our bikes as long as we stay quiet."

"Weren't you all for kicking his butt a few minutes ago?" Robbie asked.

"Yeah, well, that was before he started spewing fire like a madman. I'm not in any condition to be fighting anyone right now."

"Then go."

Go Go looked up at his face, who was still looking up. "I'll distract him. Maybe you can go get help. Your bike's better, anyway. Go get the police and come back to take this guy down."

"If you think I'm going to let you go up there, you're insane."

"Go Go, you said it yourself. You can't fight him. But what you _can_ do is get on your bike and get out of here."

"He's going to kill you!"

"And if that means you're alive, then it'll be worth it!"

Choosing to ignore the incredibly brave and emotional words he had uttered, she grabbed the front of his jacket and pulled her toward him. "Robbie, we are _not_ arguing about this."

The two stared at each other, each one trying to mentally beat down the other's brain into submission.

And then Robbie blinked.

"You're right."

Go Go leaned back.

"We're _not_ arguing about it."

Before she could say anything, Robbie pushed her back away from him, jumped on the nearest boulder, and started to climb back up the mountain.

"Robbie!"

He didn't respond, instead choosing to focus on his trek upward. Go Go cursed under her breath as she turned around and went up the miniature path toward her bike.

Deep down, she knew Robbie was right; she wasn't going to be able to do much of anything in the condition her body was in. Even with the easier trek up the hill, it still took her a few minutes (and a well-placed jump over a spot on the ridge) for her to climb back up. But finally, she got back up to the clearing, panting heavily.

"Stupid idiot..."

An errant fireball hit the tree that she had just walked past, and she glanced up to see Robbie on the ground between her and Cade, who was readying another barrage. Robbie looked up and waved his hand at her. "Go!"

She didn't need to be told again. Hurriedly, she propped her bike upright, hit the gas, and sped off back up the road.

"So, you finally got what you wanted, Mr. Reyes. Me all to yourself. Are you happy now?"

Robbie got up off of the ground and wiped his mouth. "You're going to tell me where my uncle is, you piece of crap. Even if I have to beat it out of you."

Cade's smile grew. "Well, if that's what you want, boy..."

His voice dropped, and the flame on his head grew into a firestorm.

" _ **Come and get it."**_

He shot out his hand, and a plume of fire went right at the Latino. Robbie barely had enough time to dive out of the way, but he still felt the heat as it went over him.

" _ **You can't run away from me, Robert,"**_ Cade said as his adversary ducked behind his discarded bike. **_"This was suppose to be so quick and easy. All you had to do was just follow the little birdie to the end, and you could have everything you wanted. Money...power...even something for that lowlife that you call-Gah!"_**

The blunt end of a metal chain came flying out from the vehicle, hitting him square in the face. Now bleeding, he watched as the chain got yanked backwards and into the outstretched hand of Robbie. Wrapping it around his arm, he brought up the other end, which had a shank sharpened to a fine point on it.

"Don't you dare say his name, dirtbag."

Cade roared and shot another fireball at him. Robbie was ready this time; he leaped right at him and threw the blade end of the chain off to his left, the momentum wrapping it around his waist. He caught it again behind Cade's back and yanked, his arms now trapped underneath the chain.

"Now that looks like a fancy doohickey." He brought the blade up to the shiny collar around Cade's neck. "This looks like one of those 'control tech' thingies that Go Go told me about." He pressed the pointy end into the collar, a few sparks shooting out. "Probably controls your fire stuff too, right? Bet you won't be too tough without-"

A giant column of fire erupted from underneath Cade's feet, and the sheer heat of it threw Robbie back into the ground, the now smoldering remains of his chain falling around him.

"Aw, man," Robbie panted. "It took me two weeks to sharpen that thing."

Cade either didn't hear him or didn't care, because he grabbed Robbie by the neck and pinned him down. He found himself staring into his eyes, the color changing from green to red in a hurry.

" _ **Now...let's get started."**_

A full five seconds passed before either one of them blinked. Robbie, despite the pain, couldn't help but chuckle. "What? Is something suppose to happen now?"

"Huh?" Cade's voice went back to normal, looking confused. "What..."

His face morphed from calm to massive anger. The flames skyrocketed as he threw Robbie into the dirt, his whole hand now burning like mad.

"I don't care anymore! Now... _die!"_

Robbie couldn't even react as he felt the plume run over his body. He had accepted it at this point. He wasn't going to win. He was going to-

...Get tickled?

The barrage of flame died down, and other than a few scorch marks on his jacket, he seemed perfectly OK. Cade was now bewildered, taking a step back as Robbie got up from the ground. "I don't understand. It wasn't suppose to go this way..."

"Yeah." Robbie bent down to grab the very end of his chain, bringing the shank up to his face. "Get in line."

* * *

As soon as she had pulled away, Go Go had immediately regretted it.

She was the hero. She was the one that was suppose to be saving people, not the other way around. She should have stayed to fight him, not Robbie.

She should have stayed...

Go Go slammed on the brakes, her bike coming to a stop right in the middle of the road.

It was true that her body was in pain; it was screaming for relief, sleep, and probably several cups of coffee. But it wasn't right. She needed to turn around and go back. Fight by his side. Be there for him.

But she had nothing. No armor, no plan. If she went back like this, it would be a disaster.

" _Go Go!"_

She looked down at her console, the sound of the boy genius' voice music to her ears. "Hiro?"

" _Oh man! Finally! We've been trying to get in contact with you for a while. What happened to your helmet?"  
_

"Broke."

" _Well, whatever was blocking the comms before isn't doing it now. Did you manage to find Robbie?"_

"I did," Go Go said. "But he's fighting Cade right now. I went off to find help."

" _We're on the way now. Stay there."_

Nope, that wasn't going to happen. She had made up her mind. Go Go roared her engine to life and fishtailed off back from where she had come from.

" _Go Go, you're moving. You need to stop."  
_

"I'm not." She leaned a little more into the seat. "I have to go back."

" _Go Go, your vitals are not_ _stable_ _,"_ Baymax said through the comm. _"It is better for you to stay at your current position and_ _receive medical attention."_

"I can't. I have to help Robbie. Just send me my Skymax."

Silence.

"Hiro, did you hear me?"

" _Yeah, I did. But there's a tiny little problem with that."_

"You don't have it with you, do you?"

" _Sorry that I didn't think that far ahead, Go Go!"_ Hiro yelled. _"And besides, you already have something with you that you can use."_

"Hiro, I don't know if you know this, but it's literally just me and my bike. I don't have anything else."

A loud beep came from her console, and she looked down, expecting to see his face pop up. Instead, there was an acronym on the screen, an arrow pointing down to one of the white buttons below the screen.

"Hiro."

" _Mmhmm?"  
_

"What is this S.P.I.T.F.I.R.E. protocol you have on here?"

" _Your secret weapon."_

"Another stupid acronym?" Go Go said. "I bet you don't even have a name for the letters."

" _I do!"_ Hiro retorted. _"Its the Super-Powered Itemized Technology for Interlink...Robotics...Enclosure. S.P.I.T.F.I.R.E."_

Go Go shook her head.

" _Look, if you wanted a good acronym, you should've asked Peni for one."  
_

"I didn't ask for _any_ acronym, but I appreciate the concern." Go Go glanced up at the sky. "How far out are you guys?"

" _Very far, but I have your signal. Go help Robbie. S.P.I.T.F.I.R.E. will help you out."_

Go Go hit the screen, and a blueprint of what she presumed to be some sort of robot appeared. The design looked...familiar.

"Hiro, when you made these modifications to my bike..."

" _Yeah?"_

"How much of a say did Peni have in them?"

" _...I may have let Peni take the lead on it. Complaining?"_

Go Go grasped the handlebar, the wire frame dancing on its axis.

"Absolutely not."

She cut off the comm to Hiro and sped forward, pressing the button on her console. She was almost back at the clearing, but she had a feeling the odds were going to be a little more in her favor.

" _Activating S.P.I.T.F.I.R.E. protocol."_

* * *

Robbie went down on one knee, breathing heavily. "OK, maybe staying behind wasn't the best idea you've ever had." He put a hand to his side, a sharp pain coursing through his torso. "At least I'll sleep easy tonight...presuming I even sleep to begin with."

A punch in the gut caused all of the air to go out of his lungs. Now back in the dirt, he saw the shoe of R. Cade right at his nose. He saw it go up and hover over his head, ready to bring it down on his skull.

"I've long since stopped caring, Mr. Reyes," Cade said. "I don't know how you've been able to resist everything I've thrown at you. Eli wants you alive. But I don't care anymore. This had gone on long enough."

"Hey!"

A very heavy circular something rammed right into Cade, sending him off to the left. He fell with a heavy thud close to the ridge, his fancy white jacket now covered in grime and dirt.

The disc, on the other hand, continued its path against two trees, a large boulder, and the ground in front of Robbie until it went back to its owner…

"Go Go?"

Standing before him was the Korean, but she was in something that looked like a cross between some exosuit and a mech. The front of her cycle served as her chest piece, the windshield operating as a visor. The robot arms were purple and black, serving as an extension of her actual arms. The same thing happened with the legs, increasing her height by almost double. The tailpipes were protruding out of her back and upward toward the sky.

But her new mechanical body wasn't standing at all; rather, it was levitating with the help of the two wheels at each of the ankles, magnetically keeping it off of the ground. And each of the hubcaps from the wheels were rotating on her wrists, the second one snapping back to her right arm. Go Go had a new visor on her head, but it only blocked the upper part of her face. The bottom part had a frown as she looked over the battle.

And if he could see her eyes, they would have probably been on fire.

"Stay away from my boyfriend!"

* * *

Honey Lemon looked up from the screen on Baymax's back to Hiro's evil grin. "You built her a mech suit?"

"No. _Peni_ and I built her a mech suit."

"Can I get one?" Fred yelled from Baymax's arm.

"You already have the Kaiju, remember?"

"Oh yeah..."

* * *

Go Go watched as Robbie got to his feet, staring in awe at her and the robotic suit. It would have been amusing if the situation wasn't so dire. He walked over and set a hand on the arm, the shine fighting with the dark clouds overhead.

And then he smiled.

"So...does that mean we're actually dating now?"

"Robbie." She held up a giant finger. "Not now."

"Oh yeah, we still got this guy to deal with." He motioned toward Cade, who had already gotten back up. Unlike Robbie, he didn't seem quite as impressed at the new arrival. Instead of coming up with a clever saying, Cade instead held both of his hands forward, sending a stream of fire at them.

"Get behind me!"

Go Go rolled in front of him and her discs went to her knuckles. Energy shields extended out from the metal, encasing the two in a protective bubble as the flames washed over them.

"Go Go! It's fine! He can't hurt me!"

"I highly doubt that," she said, sweat dripping down her face. "Who's the one in the mech suit here?"

"You are, which by the way...did Hiro make that for you?"

"He did."

"Man, this kid is something else. Can he make one for me?"

"No."

Putting the defeat behind him, he peered from behind her arm at Cade. "Go Go, that collar that he has. I think that's giving him his powers. If we take it off, then we can take him out."

"OK, but how are we going to get close to him?" Her eyes darted around as the vitals of her suit started going red. "I can only take this for so long."

"I'll go for it. You can distract him."

"I'm _already_ distracting him."

"Oh, good."

With that, Robbie shot out to her side and out of the shield. Raising his hand, his glove shifted into its alternate mode and conjured a small flame in the palm. "Hey, Cade! You're not the only one who can make fire. Catch!" He wheeled his hand back and threw it right at him…

Only for it to bounce right off of him.

"Huh?"

"Silly little boy. You think I have this kind of power from some silly tech?" Cade threw his hand out and aimed it at Robbie. "I have been blessed by-"

WHAM!

One of the discs hit both of his wrists, cutting off the fire stream. It went back to Go Go and she caught it as she darted forward, sending the other disc at him.

Cade sneered at it, but instead of getting hit, the disc split in half, connected together by a stainless steel cable. Not ready for the alternate weapon, it wrapped around Cade, the halves snapping back together magnetically.

"Try to get out of that, fancy pants!"

Even as he was throwing out the insult, the wire started getting hotter, smoke billowing from the disc.

"Uh oh."

"Robbie, get back!"

It was too late, the sheer force of the explosion sending both of the back into the cliff face. Dust and dirt clouds sat in the air as Cade brushed his shoulders off. He could barely see the sparks coming from the corpse of the now inoperable mech suit, but he knew it was down. He just had to finish the job.

"You two have been a pain in my side for a lot longer than you should have been." He took a step toward the wreckage. "All you had to do was be good little boys and girls and play your part. And you couldn't even do _that_."

He stopped right at the robot's feet, the dirt still obscuring his vision.

"I expected so much from you two."

He shot his hand out to the side, plucking Robbie, who had been ready to throw a punch at him, right out of thin air.

"And especially you, Mr. Reyes."

Robbie grunted from the grip on his neck, but it was too tight to escape.

"Your poor Uncle Eli has been waiting for you for _so long._ And you couldn't even bother to recognize his greatness. That's such a shame. I guess he'll never know now."

Robbie's lips separated.

"What's that? I can't hear you. You'll have to speak up."

"...You talk too much."

That wasn't Robbie.

Cade's eyes darted down to the cockpit of the mech, which had finally revealed itself out of the dust...only to show that no one was inside.

"A little hot under the collar, Cade?"

He felt her hand on the back of his neck, right on his metal device. Too late, he realized what was happening.

"No! You can't-"

He tried to turn around to stop her, but another hand came down on the front of his neck, this time belonging to Robbie. He saw that his face had its own devilish grin on it.

"Looks like you could lose a little weight, Cade. Get rid of that double chin."

Robbie's glove started to heat up.

"Nothing helps the body like a good diet..."

And then Go Go's did as well. Her voice rang out as her glove began to electrify.

"And maybe a little exorcise."

Both Go Go and Robbie pumped as much heat and electricity into the collar at the same time, and it did the trick; Cade yelled as the tech melted underneath their hands, going out of commission. Robbie landed on his butt and Go Go ran to his side as Cade stumbled backwards, the oozing metal dripping down his shirt.

"You...you little..."

He stared up at them, light pouring out of his mouth and eyes. The two of them could only watch as he began to wraith around in apparent pain.

"You...you have no idea..."

He dropped to his knees and grasped at his neck, all traces of the collar now gone.

And then he threw his head back, a loud scream ringing out into the atmosphere.

Before either Go Go or Robbie could react, a giant light shot out of his face and into the sky, momentarily parting the thick gray clouds above. They put their arms up as the dust swept into them. After a few seconds, the dust cleared to reveal Cade face down in the ground, not moving.

But that's not what was the concern now.

Hanging high above in the sky was a giant flaming skull, the pure heat emanating from it almost unbearable. It even managed to block out all of the light that was coming from the sun. Almost as if it was confused, it slowly turned left and right, trying to get used to its surroundings. It must have noticed something, because it began to drift down the mountain.

Go Go looked in the direction that it was going...and her heart dropped.

She hadn't even noticed the tiny little town built at the bottom of the mountain. There were only a few visible rooftops from her vantage point, but they were already starting to catch fire.

"He...needs a new host..."

They whirled around at Cade, who was still lying down on his stomach. His head was turned to face them, his eyes soulless and white.

"He's...going to find someone...and you won't stop him. I-I was...containing him..."

His finger pointed to the remains of the collar, and Go Go's mind put two and two together.

"What...have you done?"

His last words complete, his head flopped into the ground and didn't move. Go Go and Robbie continued to stare at the body, not sure what to think.

"Go Go!"

A trail of smoke came up from over the hill, and Go Go couldn't be more relieved to see the faces of her friends riding in on the back of Baymax. The red-armored robot landed on the clearing, and the first person off was Honey Lemon, who took the trip from him to her in about half a second. She didn't even put up any resistance as the Latina wrapped her arms around her body.

"Oh my God! I'm so glad you're OK!"

Go Go grunted into her chest. Content with her response, she went over to Robbie and hugged him as well. "Robbie!"

He kind of just took it as well, but his eyes were now scanning between Hiro (still on top of Baymax), Wasabi (looking over the smoking mech suit) and Fred (staring up at the demonic sky). He plucked his head out of her neck and looked at Go Go. "I didn't know you were buddy-buddy with Big Hero 6."

"Well, you did tell me to go get help. This was the best help I could get."

"Yeah, now that you mention it..." He put Honey Lemon at arm's length and inspected the group. "Isn't there suppose to be six of you? Where's that other one? The cute one with the discs on her arms..."

He trailed off, now looking at the mech.

"And the wheels on the feet..."

And now he was looking at Go Go directly.

"Wait."

"Do you want to tell him or should I?" Wasabi whispered from behind his hand.

"Hold on a-"

He was shushed by Go Go covering his mouth. "Robbie, we don't have time for this."

"Yeah, you gotta tell me which one of you activated the Dark Mark?"

"I'm afraid to ask, Fred. What on Earth is a Dark Mark?"

"So it's thing where you throw your wand in the air and-"

" _Rhetorical,_ Fred. It was _rhetorical."_

" _I am being alerted to several calls of distress from the small town below."_ Baymax pointed down to the buildings below, the skull even closer to them. _"We need to assist in an evacuation."_

"Yeah, but what good is that going to do?" Go Go asked. "Did you seethat... _thing_ in the sky? It's not going to stop until we take it out. You guys haven't been here! Robbie and I thought we had finished it, but it's just going to go from town to town until it hits a bigger city like San Fransokyo. We need to stop it now!"

All of her friends gave her varying looks of concern and worry. "Go Go, we have no idea what you're talking about," Honey Lemon said. "I understand you're frustrated, but we need to have a plan."

"I have one."

They turned to Robbie, who had knelt down beside Baymax to look at the town. He stood back up with a determined look. "I think it has to be me."

"What do you mean it has to be you?" Wasabi asked.

"When I was fighting him before (he motioned to the lifeless body of Cade, which Wasabi jumped away from in horror), he tried to kill me. Burned me in flames. Stared into my soul."

Johnny's actions from earlier in the day came flooding back to Go Go's mind, and she audibly gasped.

"But none of it seemed to work. He _should_ have killed me, but he didn't. He _couldn't_." Robbie stared at them all. "Like...I think _I_ have to be the one to end this."

Now the team was even more confused. Go Go took the opportunity of the silence to walk over to him. "Robbie, you are not going down there. It's too dangerous."

"And this hasn't been?" He grasped both of her shoulders in anger. "Riding around within an inch of your life? Fighting some maniac who tried to burn me alive? This seems like a cakewalk compared to that." He stared into her eyes, the green blazing in them. "You know I'm right, Go Go. You _know_ I'm right. What Cade said to us...I can't ignore that."

Her fingers curled around his wrist. "Robbie, we are the professionals. Let us handle this. _You_ are going to stay here where it's safe. Where I don't-"

What exactly that Go Go was not going to do, say, or think was lost to time, because at that moment, Robbie pressed his lips to hers.

Honey Lemon had always joked to her that a good kiss made you feel like time had stopped. Like nothing around you even mattered any more. This idea was only reinforced by the various _telenovelas_ that she watched at the apartment (with only a casual glance from Go Go as she worked on her bike). The loud notes of background music coming from the TV only reinforced her belief that the idea was fake. That it wasn't real.

Well...it sure seemed real now.

They separated, and Go Go had to remember to breathe again. Robbie let go of her shoulders and winked at her.

"I don't do safe, Go Go. And I'm not going to start now."

With that, Robbie turned and started descending down the mountain, not looking back. It was going to be a slow and arduous trek, but he was going to get down to the bottom eventually.

Meanwhile, the girl he had just left was still high in the clouds.

"Go Go, are you OK?"

She slowly turned around to look at her friends. Honey Lemon was beaming from ear to ear, and she pointed to her cheek. Go Go put her fingers on her own, and it felt like it was burning.

"Holy cow." Fred had to throw off his hood for this one. "I don't think I've ever seen Go Go blush before. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event! Where's my phone?"

She didn't even have the energy to respond to him. She could only mutter out a few words. "Did…did he just..."

"Yeah," Hiro said, the same smile on his face. "I think he did."

A few seconds past where no one moved. Most of them didn't _dare_ to move as to not incur their friend's wrath. But as luck would have it, she only had one target on her mind.

"Robbie..."

Her face scrunched up into a look of pure anger.

"That idiot!"

She stomped right past the group and launched herself into the cockpit of the mech, mashing buttons recklessly. Hiro made a motion to speak up, but Go Go shot her hand out to cut him off.

"Hiro, you have thirty seconds to get this thing back online, or else Peni's going to have one less cousin to talk to."

* * *

"...OK, maybe trying to get down this mountain on my own two legs wasn't a good plan."

Robbie, the practitioner of bad ideas, just had his biggest one yet: try to stop whatever had cause R. Cade to go stark raving mad. It had manifested as a giant skull in the sky, and it had scared him to his core. But he didn't need Go Go's brain to figure out that he was suppose to be a smoking body on the ground.

And he wasn't.

So he had to use that to his advantage.

But to what advantage he wasn't sure yet.

"Ahh!"

Robbie suddenly felt his body being lifted off of the ground. It couldn't have been a rockslide; there weren't any boulders going past him.

But there were five people now in his general vicinity, as well as a giant robot hand around his waist.

"You didn't _really_ think we were going to let you do this on your own, right?"

" _Yes, partaking in a dangerous plan on your own is very hazardous to your health."  
_

"Yeah, what he said."

Robbie looked to his right and saw Baymax flying beside him, the rest of the team on his back. "Guys..."

"Can it, Robbie." Go Go's voice came from underneath him in the mech. "We're doing this together. Now, get on."

"On what?"

She set him down on top of her suit, where two handles came out of the holes on top. He grabbed at them and pressed his feet into the back of the chassis. "This is awesome! I'm riding you!"

" _Phrasing!"_ Fred and Go Go yelled at the same time.

It took no time at all for them to get to the foot of the mountain and the city limits, and not a moment too soon; there were already people running around panicking. The main sign of the town's name was burnt to a crisp as they landed near it. Hiro started to bark out orders. "Fred, Go Go, see if there's anyone trapped in the houses. Wasabi, Honey Lemon, try to put out these fires. Robbie, take all of the townspeople we gather and get them as far away as possible. Baymax and I will fly overhead and see what places need help. Got it?"

Everyone nodded.

"OK, let's do this."

The next twenty minutes were spent with everyone at their task and getting things under control. The fires were proving to be very resilient to Honey Lemon's chem balls and even the last remnants of Fred's ice canister, but with the arrival of the fire department, they managed to at least contain the flames. Wasabi had to chop down a few planks to get a family of four out of their house, and Go Go became the latest attraction of the many children who wanted a ride out of town.

To his credit, Robbie had taken things in stride, leading the populace up the main road and the large hill that lead to the highway. He had just done his last headcount before Hiro flew in on Baymax, depositing another child into the group.

"I'm going to do another flyover, OK? But I think that's everyone."

Robbie turned to the townsfolk as he flew off, counting the group and muttering to himself. "Everyone, please make sure you have all of your family members with you. We're going to move back just a bit farther so that they can do their jobs."

"Oh my God!" A woman's voice rang out from the back. "Emma? Where are you?"

Robbie ran up to the distressed woman, who was looking all around the crowd. "What's wrong?"

"Emma! My daughter! I had her with me, and I thought I was holding her when we evacuated, but...she's not here!" Her blonde hair was disheveled as she grabbed Robbie's arms. "Please! You have to find her!"

He looked back toward the town. He didn't have any way of communicating with the team, and he didn't even see any of them in view. He had to do something.

"Stay right here. I'll go find her."

"Our house is at the very front. Please! You have to save her!"

"I will, ma'am. Don't worry."

* * *

Robbie ran down the road into the town. She still hadn't seen Go Go or anyone else in the short trip down the hill, but there wasn't any time to lose. He beelined toward the nearest house, the structure surprisingly intact from damage.

"Hello? Anyone in there?"

It was so quiet he almost didn't catch it, but the sound of crying was coming from inside. It had to be the girl.

"I'm coming in!"

Robbie rammed the door, the splinters shattering all around him. He winced in pain as he patted his shoulder. "At least Doreen and I can trade war stories now. But I guess I shouldn't be speaking too soon." He walked a bit down the main hallway, looking for any signs of life. "Emma! Are you here? Say something!"

He turned the corner to the living room and saw a little girl sitting down in the middle of the rug. She had a teddy bear in her hand and her arm up to her eyes. It looked like she was trying to wipe something off.

"Hey." He kneeled down and tried to get her attention. "Emma? I'm Robbie. I'm a friend of your mom's."

"My head hurts..."

"Yeah, I know. I'm going to get your out of here, OK?" Robbie held out his hand. "Come on, let's go."

"There's something in my head."

"We'll figure things out once we get you to your mom. We can't stay here."

The girl looked up at Robbie for the first time, and it stopped him cold. Whatever eyes she had before were now replaced with glowing red ones, and her hair was beginning to catch fire.

" _ **She's not going anywhere."**_

Robbie gasped.

"Oh no."

He took a step back as the girl stood up, bear still in her clutch. But it wasn't the girl any longer.

"Eli."

" _ **Look at what you did, kid. You made me do this. A lost soul is only as good as the body it's in. And since you got rid of Cade, I had to resort to this."  
**_

The girl dropped her bear. _**"And as soon as this body burns out, which won't take long at all, I'll move on to someone else. I'll never stop. As much as you think you've saved the day, you've only delayed the inevitable."  
**_

"And that's what?" Robbie mumbled.

" _ **...Revenge."**_

Her hair continue to catch fire as she continued on in the deep, demonic voice. _**"I got people that need to be taught a lesson. And winning that race was going to get me everything that I could need to do that. But fate had a different plan for me. I got stuck with that CEO idiot."**_ She shrugged. _**"I got used to it after a while, but then Cade started getting careless. Power hungry. And I'm not a sideline guy. I need to be in the action.**_ _ **And I won't stop. Not even you can stop me, kid."  
**_

Robbie stared at her face for a long while. The tears were still pouring down her face, and it was only a matter of time before she would be taken completely.

There was only one option left.

"Take me."

The girl tilted her head to the side.

"Take me instead."

A booming laugh came out of her mouth. _**"Don't you think I tried that, kid? It's like I told Cade; it won't work because it has to be voluntary. We're blood. We're family. That's why he couldn't get rid of you before."**_

"Then let's make a deal."

Robbie pointed a finger at her. "If you come with me, I'll take down whatever piece of crap you want. If they deserve it, we'll take them down. Scumbags, trash, all of them. But I will not let you hurt anyone innocent. My friends, my family. They're off limits."

He came back toward her and stared back in her eyes. "So, Eli…what do you say?"

The girl sneered at him.

" _ **I say, little Robbie...that you have yourself a deal."**_

* * *

Go Go zoomed up to the entrance of the town. There were only a few fires left in the town, but they had to make sure everyone was out. She swung her head left and right, trying to listen for anyone else that could be around.

And then she heard Robbie's voice.

"Robbie?"

Her eyes fell on the still aflame house, the roof dangerously close to collapsing down. The front door had been broken into, and most of the windows had shattered, flames licking out of them. She rolled over to the nearest one and looked inside, trying to find any signs of life.

In that instant, she saw Robbie bent down and talking to some girl in the middle of the living room. The girl's back was to her, so she couldn't see what she was doing. But the very fact they were in there to begin with didn't mean anything good. She opened her mouth to shout out at them…

_BOOOOOOM!_

The sheer force of the explosion propelled her back into the street and into the mailbox of the neighboring house. Her head screaming in pain, she pried open the door to the suit and threw the visor off, tears running down her face. She looked up to see the house they had been in had been sent to oblivion, only a gigantic raging firestorm in its place.

" _Robbie!"_

No. This couldn't be happening. Not now…

The team had already shown up and were trying to get even the firefighters back, but Go Go didn't care about any of them. She felt Honey Lemon's hand on her cheek, trying to diagnose her condition. Angry, she threw her aside and started running toward the house, only to be stopped by Fred.

"Go Go! You can't go in there!"

"Robbie was in there!" she yelled back at him. "I have to find him!"

Another shockwave hit the both of them, sending embers and flame shooting out in every direction. Fred covered Go Go to protect her, but it was proving difficult as she was still trying to get around him.

Then, all of a sudden, she saw something in the middle of the wreckage. The figure was outlined by the fire, obscured to her vision. Even Fred was transfixed by it now.

The figure took a step forward and the flames swept out to reveal Robbie. His racing outfit was now free of rips and tears, almost impeccably clean. But his head had been replaced by a skull, but not anyone Go Go had seen before. The sockets were thin and slitted, only a hint of red shining through them. The mouth had a full set of teeth, flames shooting out of where the cheeks should have been. Right on his forehead was an ovalish vent, another long ember lazing waving back and forth like a stray feather.

And huddled in his arms was the girl from before, safe from all of the destruction around him.

Robbie bent down silently, and the kid gleefully ran up to Honey Lemon to leap in her arms. "The fireman saved me! He protected me!"

"C'mon." Honey Lemon went into her mother mode, lifting her up onto her shoulder. "Let's get you out of here."

As she climbed onto Baymax and flew off with Hiro, Wasabi ran over to Fred and Go Go. "You guys all right?"

"Yeah." Not even Fred was in a talkative mood, and that was because of the situation unfolding in front of him.

Go Go stepped forward toward Robbie. He hadn't spoken the entire time, but the flames around him weren't hurting her. They would have been soothing in any other situation. But she knew what had happened. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out.

"Say something."

Robbie didn't move.

"I know it's you, Eli. Where's Robbie?"

"He's right here."

It wasn't the demonic voice that came out. It was Robbie's normal tone. But he wasn't fooling her.

"You're lying."

"I'm not lying, kid. He's standing right in front of you. But he's giving me a little bit of time to say my piece."

His lips didn't move as he swept his hand out, throwing a line of fire between her and the rest of the team. They started to try to get in, but Go Go threw her arm out to stop them. They relented and backed off a bit, their voiced petering out over the sound of the flames.

"Get out of him," Go Go ordered.

"Sorry, kid. I can't even if I wanted to. You see, he and I made a deal." He pressed his palm against his chest. "I get his body, and he gets to help me get my revenge. The alternative was for me to liquify that kid from the inside out, and I don't think you want that on your mind, Miss Superhero."

The Korean glared at him.

"Yeah, I can read his thoughts. But don't worry. Who am I going to tell?"

"So before...when you were with Cade..." she started. "It wasn't mutual?"

"Not really. He used that stupid collar to tap into me whenever he wanted. So if you really think about it, you did me a favor. I should thank you for that."

"You can _thank_ me by getting out of his body."

"I already told you. I ain't coming out. But it's not all bad news. It was suppose to be _you_."

"What?"

"Yeah. Cade wanted you. I wanted Robbie. But he couldn't make it all easy and whatnot. Idiot."

Go Go's head was swimming. Nothing was making any sense in her emotional state. But Eli kept going on as if nothing had happened. "I've been around a lot, kid. Seen a lot of things. A lot of people try and fail when they get taken over. But Robbie's got an anchor. Something that lets him keep control for a little bit."

He pointed a finger at her.

"And that's you, kid."

The tears wouldn't stop falling down her face.

"He likes you, kid. And I can't do anything about that. So maybe you should keep an eye on him. You never know when he might get a little...out of control, if you get my drift."

Go Go found her voice again, trying to put as much anger behind it. "I _will_ find a way, Eli. I _will_ get him out of you. One day."

He bent down and stared into her eyes. All she saw was red. But there was a hint of snide humor in them. Who did it belong to, though?

"I would love to see you try."

He took a step back. "My time's up, kid. Maybe I'll see you around when things get a little less hectic. Even an old soul like me needs some relaxation."

With that, he brought his hand up to his head, and all of the fire in the surrounding area got sucked back into his vents. Go Go watched as the air slowly started to return back to normal, and the clouds above dissipated to show the blue in the sky.

He took his hand away, and Robbie's face was back to normal. But he lurched forward, exhausted, into the open arms of Go Go, who struggled to keep him upright.

"Robbie..."

Her teammates ran forward to survey the situation as Go Go propped him up into a sitting position. He groaned as he opened his eyes. "Uhhhh..."

"What in the world was that?" Wasabi asked.

He pushed the question aside, instead focusing back on Go Go. He put his hand on her shoulder as he mumbled out some words. "Did...did Eli give you...the message?"

"Yeah." Go Go wiped her tears away. "Yeah, he did."

"Good," he panted. "Good. I didn't...want him...to hurt you..."

With that, Robbie passed out, slumping over onto Go Go's shoulder again. She held his body tight against him as the firefighters ran past them to finish off the rest of the blaze, the warmth of his body outweighing anything surrounding them.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** A lot happened in this chapter. And the most important event was the thing that everyone who has read _All-New Ghost Rider_ knew what was going to happen: Robbie getting fully taken over by the spirit of his uncle.

When I've introduced other characters from Marvel into my stories (like Doreen), I've tried to come up with sensible, technological alternatives to their powers. With Robbie, that was never going to happen. Nothing can really replace getting possessed by the spirit of a serial killer. I tried with the gloves Robbie got all the way back in **Continuity** , but there's nothing better than the real thing.

"Better" being the operative word here.

Big thanks to everyone who's been keeping up with the story through the erratic upload schedule. I hope that I'll make it up to you with the final chapter...because Robbie and Go Go need to have a long talk about where they're going.

But not before a little more hardship...and a special visit from someone who I've been waiting for six chapters to introduce.

The finale of **Highway to Hell** will be up by the end of the month. Read and review, if you like. Until next time, everyone.


	7. Take The Hindmost

_**Disclaimer:** Big Hero 6 is owned by Disney Animation. I don't own anyone or anything else in here._

_And this chapter is 15k words. You have been warned._

* * *

_**Chapter 7 – Take The Hindmost** _

" _Broadcasting live from the WSFT-TV Studios, this is your Evening Update with Bluff Dunder!"_

The intro screen faded out to reveal the desk, a blonde-haired woman sitting behind it. She swept her short hair over her ear as she focused on the camera.

" _Good evening, San Fransokyo, and welcome to the eleven o'clock news. I'm Ripley Ryan, filling in for Bluff Dunder. We'll be joined by him live in just a moment."_

She turned her chair toward another camera, the graphic of a forest fire over her left shoulder. _"We begin tonight with our continued coverage of the California wildfires that have been ravaging the countryside for the past week. State officials say that the total cost of damages to the surrounding wildlife would be in the millions. These small but numerous flare-ups have baffled environmental experts as to how they appear and disappear seemingly in the blink of an eye."_

There had to be a clue. There just had to be.

" _We now go live to News Chopper 9, where Bluff Dunder is on the scene. Bluff, what can you tell us tonight?"_

The screen now cut to the familiar face of Dunder, hair whipping around as he sat in the back of the chopper high in the air. _"Well, Ripley, believe it or not..."_ He winked at the cameraman and pointed a finger at the lens. _"See what I did there?"_

_"Yes, Bluff, I did. And I have every night this week."_

Go Go let out a faint smile. The stupid joke was pretty much the only thing that kept her going these days.

It had been five...six?

Five. Definitely five.

It had been five days since the whole ordeal with the Hell Race had ended. Like a lot of their adventures, it ended up with Big Hero 6 being victorious. Cade had gone down in flames. The town of people had not. They were able to save everyone, even Robbie.

Or so she thought.

Robbie was in no condition to come back with the team, so Go Go decided to go with him to the local hospital so that he could get treated. The rest decided to stay behind and take care of the clean-up with the town.

Upon immediate arrival to the hospital, Robbie's body starting having convulsions. Fearing for possible brain damage, he was restrained and wheeled to one of the empty rooms, where doctors started immediately working on him. Go Go was led into the packed lobby and was told that they would come get her if there were any updates.

And so she waited.

And waited.

And then when the rest of her friends showed up, she waited some more.

Almost an hour later, one of the doctors came back into the waiting room and walked over to Go Go. She didn't really comprehend much, only the fact that he was stabilized and that they could go see him, but only one at a time.

She would have liked to say that they put it to a vote, but Honey Lemon essentially pushed her out of the chair, so she took the long walk back toward his room. The doctor opened the door...only to find an empty, smoldering bed. The leather restraints on the armrests were melted, and the window to the outside had been thrown open.

The doctor ran back into the hallway and called for security while Hiro and the other ran to see what the commotion was about. Honey Lemon took one look at the room and scooted everyone out in a rush.

They couldn't properly start searching for Robbie until they were back at their base. The hospital security had turned up nothing. Both Basemax and Baymax's scans came up empty. Wasabi said something about not getting very far without his bike, so they went back to the scene of the fight with Cade to go find it.

And it was already gone by the time they got there.

There was no way Robbie could have beat them to his bike, but it was too late in the day to really think about it. Go Go was exhausted. So she reluctantly let Honey Lemon take her back to the apartment to get some rest.

The first thing the next morning, she tried calling him. Maybe he would listen to reason and-

" _We're sorry. The number you are trying to reach has been disconnected or is no longer in service. If you feel you have reached this recording in error-"_

That was only the beginning of what would be the longest week of her life.

Every day (sometimes with the team, but mostly on her own), she would go out looking for him. When the wildfires had started, she was sure that Robbie had something to do with it. So she went straight out to the newest site to try to get some evidence, and perhaps try to catch him in the act, but every time she would be greeted with a few embers, a bunch of dead grass and trees, and no Robbie. After three days, it became clear that either Go Go had the worst timing ever...or Robbie just didn't want to be found.

So she stopped.

That stare of the skull...she couldn't get it out of her mind. All of that pain and suffering. All of the horrible things that she had felt in the seconds that Johnny had stared at her for...Robbie was living it 24/7.

And she couldn't help him.

"Go Go?"

She turned her head back toward her roommate. Honey Lemon was holding two cups of tea as she walked over to her. The Latina set one down next to the computer mouse and looked at the screen. "Anything?"

"It's getting worse." Go Go's voice was hoarse and scratchy. "They're popping up at a faster rate than before."

"Yeah, I know." She took a sip out of her mug and motioned to the one on the table. "You should drink this."

"I'm not thirsty."

"Go Go, you've barely drank or eaten anything in two days. You're going to waste away to nothing."

She sniffed, pulling the blanket closer around her body.

Honey Lemon dragged her chair over and sat down. The two stayed quiet for a little bit, the only sound in the apartment the news report still going on.

"I called Aspen earlier." The Latina looked down at her phone. "She's on the East Coast right now, but she said she could be here in an instant to help us with Robbie. I told her I'd let her know."

She poked at the mug next to Go Go's hand.

"I didn't poison that tea, you know."

Go Go was still staring at the screen, the reporter now rambling on about some crime boss that had been rounded up by the police. Honey Lemon pushed the mouse up to the top corner of the window and clicked on the red X, shutting it off.

"That's not going to help, listening to the news. Freddie tells me TV rots your brain."

She turned to her friend to see her reaction to the joke, and was shocked at what she saw.

Go Go had her forehead in the palm of her hand, her eyes were closed...and tears were flowing freely down them.

"Why did he lie to me?"

Honey Lemon turned away. In all of the commotion to get Go Go caught up, the news that Robbie hadn't been entirely truthful as to why he was running the race had struck her the hardest. She had even hid Go Go's phone to get her to stop calling Rodrigo directly.

"Go Go...I don't know. I'm sure he had his reasons."

She rubbed her eye, but the tears wouldn't stop.

"I can't do this any more."

Her fingers curled into the creases in her forehead.

"First it was Tadashi. Then, it was almost Hiro. And now...now..."

The corner of her blanket was beginning to get damp.

"I don't want to lose anyone else, Aina. I don't think I could take it if that stupid jerk..."

"Shhh."

Go Go felt her friend's arms go around her neck, cradling her head into her body. She rubbed her hair as the Korean lost all control of her emotions.

"It's OK. Everything's going to be OK..."

* * *

Go Go didn't remember going upstairs to her bed at all. The next thing she knew, the birds were tweeting in her ear, and the sun was shining in her eyes. Maybe Honey Lemon carried her up to her bed.

Note to self: don't arm wrestle her to find out her upper body strength.

She looked over at her alarm clock. It was already noon; Honey Lemon must have let her sleep in. The apartment was quiet as Go Go slowly walked down the steps, spying the note on the kitchen table:

_Went off to do errands with the guys. Don't worry about the cats; I fed them already. Get some rest._

She smiled slightly. Honey Lemon's thoughtfulness did make her feel a little better, but she had something to take care of first.

Finding her phone hidden away in the cutlery drawer, she cautiously called Rodrigo to see if he had heard anything from Robbie. He had not, but he didn't seem quite as concerned as she. He had gone this long without talking to him before; surely he would pop up eventually.

She thought she had been good to talk, but Go Go had to fight to keep her voice steady. He didn't know what had happened during the course of the past couple of weeks. The race. The fight for their lives. That skull...

She hung up the phone with a heavy sigh. This wasn't going to work. She had to be more proactive. Sitting around like a little puppy dog wasn't going to get her anywhere.

But her emotions were all over the place. And between the constant searches, worrying, and anxiety, she didn't think her brain could take any more.

Go Go took a sip of her reheated tea as she looked out the window at her bike. Hiro had worked his magic to get the mech back into its bike form, but she had requested that she take the S.P.I.T.F.I.R.E. protocol out of the programming. She didn't feel like she needed it any longer.

Hopefully that wouldn't come back to bite her. The last thing she needed was another tune-up for another race...

Go Go almost spit out her tea.

Wait. There was one place that she hadn't bothered to check in. A place where she had never visited before. She scrolled through her contacts...

* * *

And looked up at the sign.

_Canelo's Auto and Body._

This was it. Robbie's place of employment.

It had taken almost an hour and a half to get to the city of Santa Cruz, hindered by her engine being overexerted by the battle with Cade. But she had made it. The black iron fence that surrounded the building had sharp points on the top, and she could hear the sounds of machinery working just around the corner in the car bays.

She coasted into the parking lot inside, now seeing four other mechanics in the building working on two separate cars. She cut the engine and got off, pulling the helmet off of her head. As soon as she did that, every eye fell on her. One of the taller men put his wrench down and turned toward the approaching Go Go.

"That's a pretty expensive piece of work you got there, girl. I bet I could make it go even faster for the right price..."

"Can it. I'm not in the mood."

"Oh, did you hear that, guys?" he said, looking over his shoulder. "She's not in the mood. Well, what would it take for you to get you _in_ the mood?"

"Hey!"

Everyone's head came up as another man came out from the side door. He had a large mustache connected to his sideburns, thin black hair hidden underneath a blue hat, and black suspenders barely holding up his oversized pants. He wiped his hands on his yellow shirt as he waved his hand at the black car on one of the lifts. "I told Frank his car would be ready by six, and I don't think he'd appreciate it if his ride was still up in the air. Get back to work, ya bum."

The mechanic grumbled and hobbled back over to his coworkers.

"You'll have to excuse him, ma'am," the man said to Go Go. "Some of my boys don't really see women that often. Forget how to conduct themselves. Name's Canelo. I'm the owner. Sorry to say that I'm all booked up for the rest of the day. I may be able to fit you in to tomorrow."

"I'm...not here for work, sir." Go Go slung her bag over her shoulder. "I...was wondering if you had heard anything from Robbie."

Canelo raised his eyebrow at her.

"He does still work here, right?"

The man looked both ways and turned around before motioning to Go Go to follow him. She carefully walked through the door he opened for her into a small office with his desk inside.

"So you're the famous Go Go that he's been talking about."

"Umm..."

"Ever since January, he's been going on and on about this girl that he's been seeing. Wouldn't shut up about it. No offense."

She wasn't quite sure how to respond, so she stayed silent.

"Let me guess. Robbie had to iron his dog? Duck out to go spend quality time with you? Tripped while going down stairs and broke his leg? What's the excuse this time?"

"I don't know, sir. I haven't seen him since a week ago." Go Go stared at him. "And I _thought_ that you would have some idea, but clearly I was wrong."

She noticed her hand had balled into a fist and quickly unclenched it. No use getting angry at this guy. She was angry at too many things at this point. She pulled a card out of her bag and handed it to him. "Look, if you hear from him, can you call me, please? I want to know he's OK." She turned to head toward the door...

"You really don't know where he is, do you?"

Go Go looked back at Canelo, who was flipping the card in his hands.

"No. I don't."

"Hm."

Another second passed before the man pulled a folder out of a cabinet at his feet. He opened it up with a wry smile. "No need for you to give me your card. I already have your number here."

Now it was her eyebrow up in the air.

"Robbie needed emergency numbers just in case something happened to him here. I got two. His old man's...and yours."

He waved the folder at her. "And all this time I thought he wasn't coming in just because he was blowing me off. Interesting."

"Sir." Go Go was desperately trying to keep her voice steady, her anger threatening to boil over. "I'm not lying to you. Something happened to him."

"Let me guess. Your mother told you to never lie?"

All she could do was stare at him. Part of her couldn't blame him; he didn't know what was going on. The other part wanted to test if he could fit through the tiny window that looked outside.

But maybe it had done a number on him. His look softened, and he took the hat off of his head.

"Sorry. I may have come off as a little non-understanding. But you have to think about it from my point of view. If I had a nickel for every time that one of my boys cries wolf about some event that they gotta skip work on (he pointed to his right)...let's just say that I wouldn't exactly be in the auto business. I already know that he skips town to go visit you; what makes you think he hasn't done that for something else?"

"Robbie's not like that. You don't know him like I do."

Canelo let out a hearty laugh. "Do you really?"

Go Go went quiet.

"Listen, I've known Robbie since he was sixteen. He started working here when he could barely tell the difference between an exhaust pipe and a lead one. Now he's one of my best guys... _when he's here_. Now, I don't know what's going on with him.. If he's got things to take care of, then by all means do it. And don't get me wrong. I love Robbie. He's like the son I never had. But at the end of the day, I got a business to run. And if he can't find the time to be here..."

He leaned in from his chair and stared right back at Go Go.

"He's gonna find himself with a lot more time on his hands...if you get my drift."

OK, this guy deserved a punch in the face. But that wasn't going to get her anywhere. So, she had to play his game.

"Yeah. I get your _drift_."

He got the gist of her malicious tone, creaking his chair back as far as he dared. "I'll call you if I hear anything, OK?"

"You do that."

With that, Go Go turned and walked out of the office, slamming the door behind her in a huff.

"Hm. Women."

* * *

"That guy sounds like a real piece of work."

"Oh, trust me. He absolutely _was._ But I had to check."

"You know, you could have probably just called them."

"And deprive myself of that _lovely_ conversation? Please."

Honey Lemon chucked as she stirred the pot on the stove.

It was that evening, and Go Go had made it back to the apartment, her mood having cratered. In retrospect, she really _could_ have saved herself the trouble of almost a three hour round trip travel, but just the thought of seeing Robbie at his work had made her go through with it.

"Did you guys have any luck?"

"No." Honey Lemon nodded her head to the laptop. "Hiro tried to come up with some sort of pattern to find out where Robbie would go, but there is none. Everything is just so random. It's like he..."

She trailed off, instead putting her attention back to her cooking. But Go Go wasn't going to let it slide. "Like he's what?"

"...It's like he's not in control."

That's what she had been afraid of. Maybe Eli had taken control of him while Robbie's body was still getting used to its new occupant. If that was true…

"Then who knows where he could be right now?"

She hadn't meant to say that out loud. Honey Lemon gave her a reassuring smile as she brought the pot over. "I told you we'll find him. But you can't do anything on an empty stomach. Here."

Honey Lemon took the lid off of the pot, and the steam from the chicken came up into her nostrils.

"There's no way I'm going to be able to eat all of this by myself."

It _did_ look really good, although the slivers of jalapeños made her uncomfortable. But at this point, she would eat the chair she was sitting in.

"How many jalapeños did you add I here?"

"A few."

"Is that suppose to comfort me?"

All of a sudden, the sound of an engine backfiring reverberated through the open window. Honey Lemon sighed loudly as she got up. "I don't know how you've lived here for this long without going crazy over the sound of Mrs. Collins' husband revving his car. Doesn't he know it's almost ten o'clock at night?"

"Never stopped him before. I yell at him, but he never listens."

"Well, maybe he can learn a little lesson from me."

Oh boy, this was going to be entertaining.

Honey Lemon leaned her head out the window as far as she dared, cupping her mouth with her hands to yell down at whoever was at their vehicle. "Hey, jerkface! We're trying to have dinner up here! Maybe you should-"

In her attempt to fill her plate with food, Go Go just noticed that she had stopped yelling. She turned her head to look at her roommate...and at her eyes that were wide with surprise.

"Go Go."

Something was up. It wasn't the tone of an angry woman any more. It was of someone who was seeing something unbelievable. She quickly hurried over to the window, ducking underneath her arm to look at the street below…

"Oh my God."

It was him.

Go Go was down the stairs in a flash. It didn't matter she was in her pajamas, or that it was an unusually chilly night, or that the loud footsteps on the wooden stairs were probably ticking a few people off.

None of that mattered.

She skipped the last few steps and slammed into the ground, screeching to a halt in front of the person who had just shown up on his very noisy bike.

Robbie looked like he had been through the ringer. He was standing right in front of his bike, hands in his pocket, his eyes staring right into the sidewalk. The light green hue had given away to thin red veins protruding out of them. His hair, normally swept back, was all over the place. He had a few new scars on his forehead, one in the shape of a V right in the center. It hadn't looked like he slept in days.

Go Go threw her arms around his neck, almost knocking the poor boy over. But he stood his ground and put his hands on her back, simply enjoying the contact. She buried her face in his chest as the tears started to flow again.

"I'm sorry."

She brought her head back to look at him.

"I...I didn't know where else to go."

"Shh."

Go Go's finger went over his lips. She wasn't in the mood to talk. Not yet.

She reached out to the seat of his car and lifted it, taking the travel bag out. Snapping it shut, she took his hand and slowly led him up the stairs into the apartment.

The first place he went was the bathroom and into the waiting cascade of lukewarm water from the shower that he desperately needed. Go Go stood guarding the bathroom door the entire time just to make sure he wouldn't try making a break for it. They didn't have a lot of extra toiletries, but Robbie's bag had enough for him to get by.

Twenty minutes later, the door opened to reveal his figure. He stepped out and rubbed his face. "I should probably shave," he muttered, pointing to his chin. "I look like a homeless person. Can I borrow one of your razors?"

Honey Lemon silently handed him one, and he closed the door behind him as he started to freshen himself up.

Go Go had not moved at all. She was too busy staring at the pack of muscles that adorned his stomach. It didn't make any sense; he had seen it before. Why was it so-

"Heh."

She turned to see her roommate looking at her over her glasses.

"What?" she mouthed.

Honey Lemon's response was only rolling her eyes and walking away.

* * *

_That night..._

Dinner had come and gone, with nary a response from the famished Robbie. Go Go didn't want to stage an inquisition until he was ready to talk about what had happened.

But now it was nighttime, and while Honey Lemon was able to doze off just like normal, Go Go had to share a bed with the person they had been searching for. Not that she minded, but still. She was a little hesitant with the sleeping arrangements, but for the sake of Robbie, he wanted him to be comfortable.

She felt the mattress shuffle behind her, and she turned to see Robbie had pulled himself into a sitting position, staring at the wall. She sat up herself and softly put a hand on his shoulder.

"You OK?"

He moved so fast that she had no time to react; her back got slammed back into the headrest as Robbie held both of her wrists in one hand. She looked up to see her staring right back at her. But his eyes were replaced with someone evil. Something terribly wrong. Smoke started to come out of the corners of his mouth as his face got closer.

"Robbie. Stop."

The palm of his hand started getting warmer and warmer, teetering on the edge of burning.

"Robbie, it's me. Go Go."

In a flash, his eyes went back to their normal color, and the smoke dissipated. He then realized what he was doing and let her arms go.

"I'm...sorry..."

Go Go rubbed her wrists. "It's OK. You didn't hurt me."

"It doesn't matter. I can't stay here."

She watched as Robbie started grabbing his things on the floor. He hurriedly threw them all into his bag and tossed it on the top of the stairs. "I'm going to hurt you, or Honey Lemon, or someone else. It was a mistake to come here."

"Robbie, don't leave. Please."

"Oh yeah?" He walked over to his bag, not looking where he was going. "Watch me." He grabbed his bag and started descending down the stairs...

Only for him to realize that there was something blocking his escape.

A tall, blonde, glaring someone.

Robbie sighed as he dropped the bag again.. "Honey Lemon, get out of my way."

"No."

"Have you watched the news?" Robbie asked. "Have you _seen_ what I'm capable of? You have no idea how lucky I've been to have not hurt anyone yet. I need to get out of here before I do something terrible."

"Robbie, _you_ are the one that came _here_. We can help you. You don't have to go through this alone."

The two Latinos stared at each other for what seemed like an hour. Neither one of them was going to give an inch. Robbie wasn't the only one able to able to make their anger shown.

It seemed like there was only one way this was going to end.

"Robbie."

And it wasn't coming from either of them.

Go Go had walked over, her footsteps slapping on the cold wooden floor. She carefully slipped her hand into his, her thumb settling on his wrist.

She just wanted the argument to end. She was tired. She was anxious. She was _so_ tired and anxious that she was using words that she thought she would never use in reference to another human in her life. Like...

"Babe."

Both Robbie and Honey Lemon widened their eyes in surprise.

"Just...come back to bed. Please."

He looked down at the hand in his grasp.

"We can argue in the morning."

She started walking back toward the bed, a dumbstruck Robbie in tow. If she had looked behind her at that moment, she would have seen Honey Lemon shed a single tear before heading back downstairs.

"I'm going to hurt you again."

"No, you won't."

"How do you know that?"

She threw the covers back over her and reached behind her to grab his hand again. She snaked his arm around her waist as they both settled back into the bed.

"Because we won't let you."

"Go Go, Honey Lemon isn't going to be able to watch us all night."

He saw her eyes look back at him, a faint smile on her face. "I'm not talking about her." She pointed down to the foot of the bed, where Robbie saw the four new occupants.

"I'm talking about them."

The smallest cat, brown and white patches of fur on its body, sleepily sauntered over in front of Go Go. It let out a giant yawn before curling up into a ball, immediately dozing off right next to their clasped hands. The others took their places at their feet, keeping them warm under the covers.

"You wouldn't hurt little Harley, would you?"

She gently set his hand on top of the kitten, letting him rub the hair a little bit before pushing her head into the pillow.

"Because if you do, _then_ you're going to wish you never came here."

* * *

_Two days later..._

We now return back to the empty apartment of Go Go, the early morning sun shining in and being absorbed by the felines still on her bed. But there was no human occupants to be found.

_Bzzzt._

Oh wait. Let's follow the noise, shall we?

Not upstairs. Not in the kitchen. Not near the living room.

"Would you hold still, Robbie?"

That sounds like it's coming from the bathroom.

"Sorry. I haven't actually done this in a while."

_...What?_

"You're being a baby. Just keep looking forward. I'm almost done, anyway."

"Hey, that didn't take long at all."

_Sh-should I leave or something?_

"See what happens when you stop complaining? Your buzzcut gets done quicker."

_...Oh, thank God._

Go Go stuck out her tongue as she started going through the last of Robbie's locks. It had been his idea to cut his hair off; he had seen it as sort of a fresh start for him. Slowly, but surely, the old Robbie was starting to come back. It was still going to take a little bit of time, but they'd get through it together.

"Ow."

"Sorry. Did I get your ear?"

"A little bit. But it's fine."

"You sure?" She bent her head around to try to find the cut. "I don't see anything."

"It probably healed. I found that little injuries like that go away pretty quick. I guess that's one of the new _perks_ I had."

She set the razor down on the top of his head, not responding. Even with all of the progress that had been made, she didn't want to bring up what had happened in the race. Maybe he needed more time...

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Well, it's a little late right now."

"No, not...this." She poked his skull with her finger. "I'm talking about later. We don't have to go out today. I think everyone would understand."

"Nah. I need to act human again. And besides, Honey Lemon said that Hiro's aunt would feed me. I can't pass that up."

She swept the razor over his head one last time. Content with her work, she turned it off. "There. I'm done. Go look at it."

Robbie got up from the edge of the bathtub and walked over to the mirror. He let out a low whistle as his hand went over his now shaved head. " _Maaan_. I haven't had my hair this short since I was a little kid. Gramps is gonna flip out."

Go Go chuckled as she started cleaning up the hair in the tub. "Did you call him like I told you to yesterday?"

"Yes, I did... _Mom_."

Shoving the razor underneath the cabinet, she stood up straight, also taking in his newfound lack of hair. "I'm sure that he was glad that you were OK."

"Yeah. I don't call him as much as I should. I'm normally too busy. Kinda makes you put things in perspective, huh?"

"Agreed."

He took one last moment to marvel himself in the mirror, and then turned to Go Go. "So, should we get going? You said everyone's waiting for us."

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Go Go asked.

"Like what?"

She pushed some fabric into his stomach, cutting his next sentence off with an "Oof!".

"Your shirt, smart aleck."

Robbie smirked at her as he pulled it over his head. "You clearly didn't mind when I had it off earlier."

"You remember differently than I did."

"That is true. I remember you drooling all over my _magnificent physique._ "

"Ugh." Go Go reached out for the door handle. "You want me to give you and yourself a moment with each other?"

* * *

"This was all we were able to find."

The garage of the Lucky Cat Cafe was now crammed full of people. In addition to the normal gang of six, there was Robbie, sitting in the chair that Hiro normally occupied. Baymax was standing behind him, monitoring his vitals as a precaution. The rest were scattered around the garage, standing a variable amount of distance away from the Latino.

Hiro brought up his screen and pushed it out into the 3D space. "Megan managed to do some digging and sent me the file of the crime scene."

"And who's Megan?" Robbie whispered to Go Go.

"Daughter of the police chief. And I'm pretty sure she has a crush on Hiro."

"Does _every_ teenager girl that you know have a crush on him?"

"At this rate, probably," she answered.

Hiro cleared her throat, which brought both of them out of their side conversation. Ignoring everyone else's teasing smiles, he kept talking. "Based off of what we looked up on Eli, there was a year's difference between when he left your family house and when the...accident happened."

"It wasn't an accident. My parents were murdered." Robbie's head sunk down. "You don't have to sugarcoat it."

Wasabi stepped forward and rotated the model of the house. "We couldn't find anything that tied either Eli or Cade to the crime scene. Every single print that was in the downstairs area was completely burnt away, including the ones that were on your parent's fingers. They had to identify them through dental records."

Go Go glanced over at Robbie. Even though he was the one who wanted to do this, his mood was getting more and more sour. She reached out a hand and grasped his in it, squeezing it slightly.

"And it's not like the house is there any more; the police had to tear it down since it wasn't habitable," Fred added, twirling in his chair. "I think Krei turned it into a multiplex or something."

"So who was it?"

Robbie sat up and stared at all of them. "Was it Eli or was it Cade who killed them?"

The team glanced between them, not sure how to respond. It was Honey Lemon who decided to speak up. "Could...couldn't you ask Eli? Like see if-"

"I tried that." Robbie pointed to his head. "That's kind of not how this works. I can't really listen to what he's thinking unless he wants me to. And he's not really in a talkative mood right now."

"Sorry."

He folded his arms in front of him. "Don't be. I'd rather you think of a way you can stop the constant headaches and homicidal thoughts I'm having."

" _Your symptoms are systematic to a psychological breakdown. Perhaps you would like a hug."  
_

"I don't think that will do anything, big guy. But thanks for the offer."

Hiro dismissed the model, the garage returning to the normal layout. "I could try to get in touch with Karmi, but to be honest, we deal with technology and mechanics and that kind of thing. Whatever happened to you...that's not really our expertise. I wish we could help you more."

"You guys are already doing more than I thought you would." Robbie sniffled. "More than any freak like me deserves."

He brought up a hand, palm up, and conjured up a fireball. After a few shocked seconds, he extinguished it. "At least I have a cool party trick now."

"We were going to ask about that," Wasabi said. "We were watching the news and it seemed like you were jumping all over the place. Can you-"

"Teleport? Sort of. But I haven't had a chance to try it myself. Eli was doing that, not me."

Robbie's hand clenched Go Go's a little tighter.

"And to be honest, who cares who it was that killed my parents? Either it was Cade or Eli in control of Cade. They can both rot for all I care."

The silence in the garage sat thick in the air. Go Go was really at a loss for what to do. They couldn't really help him, not in the traditional sense. Like Hiro said, they hadn't really dealt with anything like this before.

"Hey, guys! Lunch is almost ready!"

Aunt Cass walked around the corner and wiped her hands on her apron. "I hope you like your chicken salad extra salad-y, because I may have gotten too much lettuce and celery and needed to use it for something."

Not hearing a response, she looked around the garage at everyone's sad expressions. "Hey, why the long faces? Let me guess. Someone's allergic to chicken salad."

"No, that's not it. It sounds great." Robbie got up from his chair and started walking out, but Aunt Cass stopped him in his tracks.

"Go Go told me you were having a rough few days. Is that true?"

"Umm...yeah. It's been a bit of a struggle."

The woman patted down Robbie's jacket to get a crease out of it. "Well, Robbie, let me tell you something that my mom always told me whenever I had a bad day."

She gave him a warm smile.

"No matter how bad things get, there's always a chance for a better tomorrow."

Cass then glanced up at the top of his head. "Did you do something with your hair? It looks different."

"Yeah. Go Go cut it all off."

"Did she change your eyes too?"

"Huh?"

Go Go walked over to her and looked up at Robbie's face. The iris in his right eye was no longer the green she was accustomed to. It was now a very light shade of red, almost teetering on orange. It was a surprising contrast to his normal color.

"I didn't know you had heterochromia."

"I...didn't realize what that was."

"Well, these sorts of things sometimes don't show up until you're older. But it looks really cool. I remember this one girl in my high school had it too. Poor Anna Marie; she got made fun of all the time for it. She never let it bother her, though."

"That's nice," Robbie said. "Can you call her and give me advice?"

"Wish I could. I never heard from her since graduating. She _did_ always talk about going rogue..." she trailed off.

Hiro looked over at Go Go, shrugging.

"Oh well. Anyway, I hope that everyone is hungry. Your grandfather should be here any minute, and I want to make sure you're all ready for him."

"Wait, what?"

"Go Go didn't tell you?" Aunt Cass asked. "She invited Rodrigo up for lunch with us. She thought it would be a good idea to get him out of the shop. Isn't that nice of her?"

The garage had never cleared out so fast until now. Go Go whirled around to find that all of the previous occupants were now far past Aunt Cass, entering the cafe through the front door. She saw Robbie was staring at her and shrugged. "Hey, you _said_ you wanted to see him more often. And when was the last time he went anywhere?"

The honk of a horn came over the fence, and Aunt Cass turned toward it. "And there he is right now. Always so punctual."

Robbie and Go Go followed Aunt Cass out of the garage to see a large white van sitting at the curb next to Go Go's motorcycle. It had the logo of Rodrigo's business on the side, a sunflower with a somewhat sadistic smiley face sitting on it. The man himself was just getting out of the driver's side, spotting his grandson walking toward him. "Roberto! How have you been?"

"I'm good, Gramps," Robbie said, scratching the back of his head. "Hanging in there."

"Well, Go Go and Honey Lemon keep calling me and telling me they're worried about you, and I take notice! You should really answer your phone more often!"

Robbie sheepishly grinned, and Rodrigo took the opportunity to turn to Aunt Cass. "Cassandra! How are your begonias coming along?"

"I'm going to need some new ones for the summer. You have a shipment coming soon?"

"Yup, just as soon as I can get this one to come around." Rodrigo punched Robbie in the shoulder.

Aunt Cass chuckled as she walked over to the door. "Well, lunch is ready, whenever you guys get in here."

"Give me one second. I got to get my cargo out of the back!"

"Gramps! For the last time, I'm not cargo!"

Go Go whipped her head around to hear the voice coming out of the open van window. Who in the world could that be?

And why was that voice causing Robbie to freak out?

"You brought him?"

"Of course I did, Roberto! You haven't seen him in a while! I want you guys to catch up! Besides..." Rodrigo unlocked the back doors and threw them open, a ramp automatically cascading down to the road. "Family is everything. I always tell you that."

The old man ducked out of sight, and Go Go took the opportunity to glance at Robbie, who looked like he was frantically trying to back up toward the cafe. "What's your malfunction?"

"Hey, bro!"

Rodrigo came back into view, but now he was accompanied by a new person. It was a kid with bushy black hair and very thin arms, adorned in a dark blue shirt and black shorts. He looked suspiciously like the person standing next to her.

Well, there was one difference...the wheelchair he was sitting in.

"Robbie, aren't you going to introduce me?"

The kid's question seemed to have brought Robbie back into the real world. He took a step to the side as the kid wheeled up the sidewalk, Rodrigo pushing the chair behind him.

"Uhhh...sure." He held his hand out at the girl next to him. "Gabe, this is Go Go. Go Go, this is Gabe."

He shot one last look at Go Go before ending his sentence.

"...My brother."

To say Go Go was surprised was a bit of an understatement. Out of all of the information Honey Lemon had told her the other night, this was _not_ something she had mentioned. Her brain, having been on the edge of insanity so much this past week, was starting to teeter over again.

But luckily, she was blessed with her family's ability to poker face extremely well. So, she pushed all of her questions to the back of her mind, bending down a little to lock eyes with the kid.

"Well, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, Gabe," Go Go said. "Robbie's told me a lot about you."

"Really?" Now he was even more excited. "What'd he say?"

OK, maybe she hadn't thought _that_ far ahead. Time for some quick deductive analysis. She looked down at the worn-down treads on his wheels and had an idea.

"I can tell that you like going fast. You race other people in that wheelchair?"

"Nooo!" Gabe turned away, trying to hide his grin. "That's against school rules. I'd never do that."

"Oh, of course not. You follow the letter of the law." She poked at the myriad amount of fire and car stickers on the frame of his chair. "You know, my friend really likes stickers, too. She's sitting inside if you want to talk to her."

"Oooh! Is she pretty?"

"Gabe, I see that look in your eye. You are _way_ too young to be thinking about that kind of stuff." Robbie had found his voice again from behind Go Go. "Maybe you should focus on getting through high school first before trying to handle girls."

"Go Go thinks I'm cute. Don't you?"

"Eh. You're OK." She ruffled his hair a little bit. "And before you get any ideas, both she and I are a little too old for you."

The kid seemed to take that in stride before beckoning Go Go to lean in. "My brother talks about you all the time when he comes and visits me."

Go Go felt Robbie's arms waving behind her in an attempt to get him to stop talking, but to no avail. "Oh really?" she smirked. "What does he say about me?"

"He says that you ride bikes. And that you're very smart."

Gabe leaned in even further.

"And that you're very pretty."

And then she heard the palm smack his forehead.

"Did he, now?" Go Go smirked.

"OK, Gabe. I think your brother is about to burst into flames. Let's all go inside and chow down." Rodrigo started steering Gabe toward the front door. "You coming, _nieto ?_ "

"In a second, Gramps. I have to talk to Go Go real quick."

Content with his grandson's response, the two went inside the cafe, but not before one final wave from Gabe. She smiled and waved back, and as soon as they had closed the door, she looked at Robbie, whose head was still in his hand.

"Cute kid."

He peeked over his index finger at her, cheeks still blazing.

"You never told me you had a brother."

"I don't." Robbie stared into the cafe, watching as Gabe started talking to Aunt Cass. "Not legally. Technically. I mean, he _is_ my brother, but..."

She saw him walk over to his bike, leaning against the seat. She took a spot right next to him. It sounded like this was going to be a story.

"When my parents passed away," Robbie started, "Gramps took us in. He tried his best, but he wasn't really equipped to take care of us, especially with Gabe's disability. And he was already old to begin with, so between that, the flower shop, and us, it was a very interesting childhood. So, I decided that when I turned eighteen, I wanted to become Gabe's primary caretaker. _Abuelo_ had no qualms about it, because we were still living close by back then."

Robbie crossed his arms, looking down at the ground. "The only problem is that I didn't have a good record. Most of it could be chalked up to things that were minor or that could be looked over...and then I got busted for street racing trying to pay my rent. Courts decided I wasn't responsible enough to watch him. And since Gramps had already given up control to me thinking that I would get custody, they put him with a foster family instead." Under Go Go's gaze, he held up his hands. "Which I don't really mind. They take good care of him. Give him things that I never could. But I sort of want him to watch over, you know?"

"The money that you wanted from the race. It was never about Rodrigo." Go Go whispered. "It was about Gabe."

Robbie sighed. "I had a meeting with the courts recently. My record was clean. All I needed was the money. It was the last thing in order to get him back. And now I don't have that. And now...I don't know what I'm going to do."

The two went silent as the lunchtime traffic went by behind them. Go Go could definitely relate to him about the lack of money. It wasn't that long ago that she was going to Fred and-

Wait.

"Robbie..." She grabbed his shoulder. "Remember what I said to you before this whole thing started. You can ask Fred. He would _give_ you the money. You know that."

"I don't want his money." He said, his voice rising. "I would owe him, then."

"Why do you have to be like this?" Go Go's was also getting higher. "Is it your pride? Your feelings? Is one of them going to get hurt?"

Robbie looked away.

Go Go sighed loudly. Well, she didn't want to have to bring this out.

"I used to be like you. I didn't want anyone's help. And then...something happened."

She leaned up right next to Robbie. "It was my first semester at SFIT. I had just gotten used to school and everyone in the group. I was taking the first prototype of my maglev bike out for a test run. I decided to go across the Torii Gate Bridge and back, but halfway across both of the wheels came off. Apparently I didn't make the magnetic connection strong enough. Tumbled right over and broke my wrist. Tore us the rest of my body pretty bad too."

"I got taken to the hospital, but all I could think about was how I was going to afford everything. I had no job. No health insurance. And I wasn't going to make my parents pay for it. I didn't know if they even _would_ ," she added, rubbing her arm.

"So what happened?" Robbie asked.

"Well, when I finally got enough courage to ask about the billing, the nurse told me that someone had already taken care of the bill."

"Fred."

"Yup. Fred paid for it. All of it. Was back on my feet and at school within a week. When I saw him again at school, I said to him that I was going to pay him back. And you know what that knucklehead told me? He said not to worry about it. He said that me being healthy was more important."

Go Go looked into the cafe, now watching Fred and Gabe have an animated conversation. "Every month for the entire year after that, I tried to give that idiot a check. And every single time he told me to keep it. After that last month, I just stopped. Fred may be a lot of things, including several that annoy me to death...but I know he has my back. And he knows I have his."

She moved her body away from his bike to stand directly in front of him. "Robbie. If you go in there, and ask Fred for the money, he will _give it to you._ He _does not care._ You are not going to bankrupt him. He is good for it."

Robbie let out another sigh.

"Look, you don't have to do it now. Just promise me you'll ask him at some point. OK?" She started walking toward the door. "Now, c'mon. I'm hungry."

She didn't even get two steps away before she wasn't able to go any further. The reason for that was the hand around her wrist.

"I'm sorry for not telling you about Gabe."

She looked back at him, noting the heat coming from his palm.

"But there's a reason for that."

She took a step back to him, now worried again.

"Gabe has...attachment issues. I've had him meet people before that I've had to cut out of my life and he always raises a stink about it. So I don't really include him in as many things as I should. I'm a terrible brother, I know."

"Is he the one with attachment issues? Or is it _you_?"

Robbie looked up and stared into her eyes. They were glaring right back at him, not with malice, but with understanding. He let out a small laugh. "Man, Hiro was right when he said you could read minds."

"I don't read minds. I read people."

He broke their gaze to stare back at his shoes. He was wrestling with something dire; that much was clear. It was a good thing that she _couldn't_ read minds, or else she would have to throw his problems in with all of hers.

"Leiko…"

Uh oh. The dreaded first name. Good thing she never got around to telling him her _actual_ first name.

But enough about that.

Robbie let out a breath. "Sorry, I'm not used to this."

"It's OK." She slipped her wrist out of his grasp and gripped his hand. "I'm here."

"Well, that's part of the problem I'm struggling with."

"Hm?"

His other hand was resting on the handlebar, running his finger down the ridges in it. After a minute of collecting himself, his mismatched eyes went back to Go Go.

"I've never met anyone like you."

Well, that was a whopper to start off on. Go Go felt her cheeks flush.

"I've tried to date other people in the past. And they're all so...full of themselves. Uppity. Boring. Things never lasted long. I got frustrated. And then I started to just distance myself from everyone, Gabe and Gramps included. And then...I ran into you. You were cool. Amazing. And that was even before I found out you were a part of Big Hero 6. That made you even _cooler_ in my eyes."

She blinked once.

"I don't know what brought you to the flower shop that day-"

"The postal service, mostly."

The two chuckled at her poor attempt at a joke.

"But...I'm glad that you were there that day. Which is why this is difficult."

"Why?" she mumbled.

His fingers gripped her hand a little harder.

"What happened at the race...what happened after that...I would completely understand if you wanted to break things off now."

Go Go tilted her head.

"I'm bad news. All of this (he twirled his finger at his temple) is just so crazy. It's too much to handle. I'm barely hanging on as it is. And I don't...want to put you through that. I don't want you to feel obligated to be around me because you were with me when Eli came into the picture. I-"

"Robbie."

She had to cut him off. As meaningful as the words coming out of his mouth were, if she didn't say what she wanted to at that moment, she was going to explode. She felt the hand in his start to shake, a foreign feeling to her.

"I don't want to be around you because I feel obligated to. Or because I feel responsible."

She took a deep breath.

"I do it because I like you."

Robbie's eyes widened at her admission. He stood straight up as Go Go continued on.

"Look, I've been struggling with what to think about our relationship. Part of me didn't even want to admit it _was_ one. But I spent the better part of two weeks worrying about you, running that race with you, and fighting against Cade. Not a lot of people would do that with me. Especially without any regard to their own life."

The Korean took a tiny step closer.

"As for _that…_ " She pointed to his head. "I'm still processing it, too. And I know it's scary. I'm scared _for_ you. And I wish I could tell you that it will get better. I wish I could say that the future will be great for us, but I don't know. I can't promise you anything. I can't guarantee that we'll still be together."

His green eye _was_ really nice to look at. She had to make a mental note to chide Aunt Cass later.

"But right now, in this moment…"

She rubbed her thumb along his wrist.

"I am your girlfriend."

Wow. That sounded really weird coming out of her mouth.

"And you are my boyfriend."

That was even weirder.

"And that means we support each other. I will do everything in my power to help you...because I know you would do the same for me."

Go Go grabbed both sides of his face and pulled his head closer. Their foreheads touched as he stared into his eyes.

"Are you paying attention to me?"

"Yeah," Robbie muttered. "I am."

"...I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to _him_ now."

The red eye looked like it was almost on fire, like it was staring into her soul. For all she knew, it probably was. But she was used to it by now. She wasn't afraid.

"Eli…"

Go Go's brow furrowed.

"Roberto Reyes is a good man. He is _better_ than you. He is _stronger_ than you. You _will not beat him_. He won't let you...and I won't let you. Do you hear me?"

He closed his eyes in pain, a few tears running over his cheeks, but a second later they were back open.

"Yeah," Robbie said. "Yeah, he heard you."

"Good. He better remember that."

She let go of his head, letting her hands drift down his chest. That almost took all of the energy out of her. She was going to need a nap after this. Or maybe another visit to the woods.

"He said to me that I would never amount to anything."

She looked back up at him, a little confused.

"Eli did. Out in the woods. He told me that I was just his plaything. That I would end up as someone he used and would eventually toss aside. And when I was out there in the woods...I believed that."

Robbie glanced away, rubbing his eyes with his sleeve.

"And then I thought about you and how much you matter to me…" He grazed his forehead, his fingers running over his new markings. "And I was myself again. I kept control. And I don't hear that stupid idiot in my head."

Go Go's hands didn't move from his chest.

"Leiko, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

_Thump thump._

"And I really want to show you how much I care about you."

Stupid heart and it flying off the handle.

"I mean...if you want to, of course."

Silly boy. He was taking her silence as dissent.

"I don't want to force anything on you if-"

"Robbie."

He put his attention back on Go Go, who was cupping his cheek with her hand. She wasn't shedding tears like he had been (not that she would admit to it anyway), but her eyes were definitely gleaming.

And that smirk was back on her face. She shook her head slightly as she cut him off.

"...Just shut up and kiss me already."

The look of surprise was only there for an instant, and it was immediately replaced with relief. He chuckled as he leaned in, his arms around her waist. "Well, you _are_ the boss…"

Their first one had been right after winning the fight against Cade. It was rushed. It was panicked. Her emotions were bouncing off the walls. Even with all of that, she had still enjoyed it.

But now that she had the proper amount of time to think and savor the moment...their second kiss was even better.

Robbie pulled her into his body as Go Go's arms snaked around his neck. Her fingers ran through the shortened hair on the back of his head. His response was to bring her even closer, his hand slotting in between her shirt and her jacket.

It still wasn't anything out of one of Honey Lemon's _telenovelas_. But it was pretty darn close.

They separated from each other, but still kept their faces close. Go Go hadn't realized she was standing on her toes, his arms helping her with the rest of the distance.

"If you being there for me means we get to do _that..._ then I'm all for it."

Go Go only laughed in response, nuzzling her face in his chest. She could still feel the warmth through his shirt and jacket. Whether it was because of his normal body heat or the new inhabitant of his brain she wasn't sure, but it was definitely something she could get used to.

"We have an audience."

She didn't want to say anything, but it didn't come as a surprise. They _were_ right in front of the Cafe, after all.

"Let me guess," Go Go muttered. "Fred's staring through the window doing some sort of cat call."

"Yup."

"And Gabe's on his shoulders cheering you on."

Robbie raised an eyebrow over her. "Huh. You're right."

"What is Honey Lemon doing?"

"...I think you want to see this."

Go Go very cautiously turned her head so that the window was in view. Whoever else had been occupying the booth had vacated it except for Honey Lemon, although she could still see everyone else inside. Her roommate was tracing her fingers on the window in a rectangular motion and whispering three very familiar words to her.

_Get a room._

"Ugh." Her forehead went back into his chest. "I should have known that was coming."

She didn't want to go inside. She just wanted to say out there with him.

Funny how she was on the other side of the teasing now.

But there was no hiding it now.

"Well." She stepped back, their hands grasping each other. "Ready to go make it official?"

"Do we have to?"

Go Go laughed as she led him toward the front door. "Yes, Robbie. We have to."

* * *

It wasn't nearly as bad as she thought it was going to be.

To her surprise, it was Hiro who was teasing her the most. He was even getting a little pompous about it, even after Go Go started to bring up Karmi. But halfway through thinking up her epic comeback, she decided against it. She would let him have his fun for the day.

Wasabi was naturally supportive. Honey Lemon too. Heck, Fred was just amazed someone was making her this flustered. Gabe was busy asking too many questions to Baymax to pay much attention.

It was right after Aunt Cass and Rodrigo were fake arguing about the name of his grandchild that they decided to head for the exit. They both walked out of the street and back to his bike.

"So they'll let him drive a van but they won't give custody of Gabe back to him? That doesn't make any sense."

"I don't make the rules. It sucks. But the flower shop's not too far, and the van only goes so fast. Plus, he's got Gabe with him to help."

Robbie threw his leg over the bike and started it up.

"You going back to your house?"

"Yeah. I gotta lot of things to take care of. Including as to whether I still have a job anymore."

He revved his bike up and sat his helmet on his head. "I call you when I get home, OK?"

"OK. Be careful."

"I will." He bent forward and kissed her on the cheek. "See you in a couple days."

All kinds of things were bubbling inside Go Go as she watched him drive off. Anger. Happiness. Sadness. More anger. Worry.

"Man." She rubbed her temple. She was so used to talking to other people about their emotions that having hers bottled up was making her head hurt.

"How are you holding up?"

Honey Lemon's voice came from behind her. It was a testament to their friendship that she was treading carefully in terms of Robbie. She had already dished out a lot when it came to Karmi and Aspen; it figured that she would need to take a little bit when it came to him.

"I've been better."

The Latina glanced at her phone as she came into view. "Well, do you want to head back to the apartment? I have to work on something for Doreen. You're more than welcome to brood there if you want."

"No." She looked over at her own bike. "I need to clear my head. Maybe go for a drive or something."

Honey Lemon nodded. "OK. Just don't get yourself in another death race."

So for the next hour, that's what Go Go did. She went on her bike and blindly let the road take her. The wind whipped around her as she took side road after side road, past car after car, and just let her mind wander.

Figuratively. She still had to pay attention to the road.

But it was like fate was guiding her bike, because she ended up in the place that she didn't think she would go back to.

She pulled to a stop right in front of the bar. It was still exactly where it was before: off a random side road, behind a thick bunch of trees, and unceremoniously built into the side of a cliff. But this time, as she got off of her bike, there were no other vehicles waiting for her out in front. She wasn't even sure if it was open.

But the entrance gave way to her hand, and for the second time, she was greeted by the interior of the bar. Unlike before, however, there was no dirty glares. No poker games. No raucous conversations. All of the chairs were empty. In fact, there was only one person in the entire building.

"Well, well, well."

The very large man rubbed the rag all over the glass he was cleaning. "Look who decided to show up. Little miss girly herself."

She walked up to the stool in front of him, saying nothing.

"I heard what happened to that kid. Robbie. He's a good guy. Came in here a couple of times. And unlike certain people, he didn't break any of my furniture."

Go Go looked behind her at the empty room. "Where is everyone?"

"Out doing other things. Don't normally have the bar to myself, so I'm cherishing it."

"And Jamison?"

Mako set down the glass. "Been avoiding the place. I think he's afraid Johnny's gonna rough him up again."

That slow, rumbling headache that she had the first time she came here was there again. All of the anxiety that was riding along with her had arrived shortly after her had caught up. Robbie was still there in her mind.

"You OK, girlie?"

The same question that Honey Lemon asked her seemed so different coming out of his mouth. With her, it was second nature. To him, not so much. Finally, she let out some mumbled words.

"I need a freaking drink."

Mako chuckled to himself. "Well, it _sounds_ like you came to the right place then. Here. Give me a sec."

He disappeared into a side door he hadn't noticed before. As soon as she thought up some ideas as to what he was getting, he was already back, holding what looked like two bottles of alcohol. He slapped one down onto the counter and turned to the back shelves to put the other one away. Go Go leaned in to look at the label, noting the fire decals and pig face on the front.

"'Roadhog's Whole Hog Whiskey'?"

"Yup. Something I've been tinkerin' with for a little while. Working with this sort of thing tears up your lungs, though."

"Is that what the mask is for?"

"Uhhh….yeah. Sure. Definitely."

Ignoring Go Go's confused look, Mako set down two shot glasses in front of her. "Want to partake?"

"...Sure. Why not?"

The man poured out each glass to the brim, and Go Go took one in her hands and wafted it. It didn't immediately knock her out, so that was a plus. "You gonna ask me for my ID? How do you know I'm 21?"

"Are you?"

"Yeah."

"I guess we don't have a problem, then."

Smiling, Go Go held up her glass, and Mako clinked it with his. " _Salud."_

" _Salud."_

She took it down all in one gulp, slapping the shot glass down open side down. The burn washed over her face and down her throat, and she shook her face to get the feeling back. "Whoa! That was…"

She smacked her lips together.

"That was actually not bad. Is that...honey I taste?"

"Well, aren't you an _aficionado_."

She blinked her eyes rapidly to refocus the room. "Not really. I had a bad experience once. But that's not bad stuff."

Go Go whirled them around in her sockets. All of the bottles on the back wall started to separate back into their normal colors, but she noticed something she hadn't before. Near the center of the wall was a picture of a woman, her bright blonde hair pulled back in a high ponytail. Her blue eyes were sitting behind black-rimmed glasses, and a small, inquisitive smile was on her face.

"Who's that?"

Mako followed her gaze to the photo frame.

"That's Angela."

His voice had gotten so quiet that she thought she had said something wrong. "Sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"Nah, you're good. Everyone asks at least once." He gingerly picked up the frame and handed it to Go Go. "She's a person I met when I was traveling around back in the day. Helping the sick. Doing what's right. We tagged along with each other for a while. Couldn't hold a poker face to save her life, but man, was she great to listen to. She'd talk your ear off about medical stuff and all that jazz. Didn't make much sense to a schmuck like me, but I didn't mind it."

"Where is she now?"

Now he wasn't talking at all. The silence did it for him.

"Oh."

"Don't worry." The photo was back in his hands. "She's where she needs to be. Somewhere where people like me can't hurt her anymore. Far, far away from this place."

Go Go turned in her stool as the frame got put back. She was trying to take everything in. It seemed like yesterday that she was here for the first time, trying to find her way after the invite she got came to her door…

"Mako, why was I invited to the race?"

The question stumbled out of her mouth before she had a chance to close it. It was the question that had been nagging her ever since the beginning.

"Why me?"

"I think you already know."

She had an inkling, sure. But he wanted to hear him say it.

"Humor me," Go Go replied.

She felt his hand come down on the counter, taking a moment to think. His hidden eyes were boring into the back of her skull, almost judging her reaction.

"People come and say they race for different reasons. The challenge. The money. The rush. But everyone who comes here has a reason they never want to admit. Something that happened in their past that they're trying to make up for. Something that keeps them up at night. Something they never learned to let go."

The memory was already starting to come back in her mind.

"So. What's yours?"

The glimpse of it when Johnny unleashed that stare still burned. It still hurt, even all these years later.

"I watched a man die."

Go Go closed her eyes.

"And I did nothing to stop it."

Every single detail was coming back to her like she was there again.

"I was eleven. I was a part of a bike gang with my friends in the neighborhood I was living in. We hung out all the time. Skipped school. Complained about our parents. It was fun. We would go around and do little things like Ding Dong Ditch and honk our bike horns in the middle of the day. Dumb, silly stuff.

"Eventually, we upgraded to knocking down mailboxes, throwing rocks at little kids, and beating up people at school. We would dare each other to push kids down stairs and dunk their heads in the toilet. I didn't really like doing that, but I thought if it made them happy, I would be too. So I went along with it."

Her finger rubbed the bottom of the shot glass.

"And then one night, the leader of the group took us to this convenience store where he wanted to take some stuff. I had never robbed anything before, and I was uneasy about it. But peer pressure made me go with him.

"The old man that was running the place knew exactly who we were. My friend tried to grab as much candy as he could and bolt, but the guy somehow locked the exit. He told us that if we just gave everything back and left, he wouldn't call the police on us. My friend flipped out, and in the midst of waving his arms around, something fell out of his pocket."

She steeled herself for the next part.

"It was a gun."

The kid Go Go flash in the grown-up Go Go's memory. "I don't even know where he had gotten it from. He picked it up off of the ground and started waving it around like a lunatic. I remember ducking behind one of the drink machines. There was a ton of screaming and yelling. I covered my ears to try to block it all out. I saw him pointing it at the man, who was trying to calm him down."

She let out a sigh.

"And then...it went off."

Her fingers gripped the glass so tightly she was in danger of breaking it.

"I remember seeing the old man on the ground, not moving. I remember my friend's face just going all white. And I remember the blood. There was...there was so much blood…"

Go Go shook her head again. The tears were staring to fall now.

"Everything after that was a blur. The door somehow got unlocked, and I ran. I ran, and I ran. I ran as fast as my legs would take me until I found my way back home. My parents yelled out at me, but I locked myself in my room and just sat in bed all night. I didn't sleep at all.

"I came out the next morning and there was an officer sitting in the living room. He sat me down and told me that someone had been shot dead the night before and he was looking for information. I guess a witness had seen us go into the store, but since there was no working video inside, they needed leads. He told me all of this and I just...broke down."

The image of her in the house crying her eyes out didn't help with her own tears. "I told him everything. I ratted out my friends. I later found out that the police had rounded up some of the other people in the gang, and they were trying to blame it all on me. But I guess I was more believable than they were. Due to my testimony, my friend got sent off to juvie. I was lucky to get a few hundred hours of community service."

"Doing what?"

Go Go had forgotten Mako was still there, so she turned her body back around to face him.

"Hard labor. Normal things like trash pickup and volunteering at shelters. The officer who came to my house would check up on me everywhere I went. I knew every single time when he was coming, too. He was one of the only officer that had a motorcycle. That thing backfired so much that you could here it a mile away.

"I eventually because so curious about it that I asked him about the bike. He said that he would show it off to me...once I was done with all of my hours." She softly laughed. "And true to his word, once I was done, he brought it to my parents' house. Let me take it apart and show me all of the inner workings. That's when I feel in love with bikes."

Go Go ran her finger in the inside of the glass. "Officer Tomago. Never did find out his first name, but he's the reason why I changed. I promised him that I would be a better person. That I would stand up for myself and for other people. And I've tried to do that ever since."

"But you still can't let it go."

She looked up at him. "Nope. I _won't_. Not because I can't. But because it reminds me that I could have easily been in a much worse place than I am now. And I have friends that actually care about me. That won't try to throw me under a bus at their convenience."

"That's quite a story you got there, girlie. They should give you a show or somethin'."

Go Go rolled her eyes...which she immediately regretted because of the alcohol.

"Don't worry, it wears off quick. Good for sitting at home and relaxing. I reckon you still have about five minutes before your metabolism burns that shot off. Which reminds me!" He ducked behind the counter, reaching for something. "I still gotta give you what you came for."

"OK, I'll bite," Go Go said. "What did I come here for?"

"Besides the ambiance?"

Something very heavy was slapped onto the counter.

"This."

Go Go looked at what he put down. "A bag? I have bags, thanks."

"It's not the bag, girlie. It's what's inside."

Deciding to humor him, she leaned over and pulled on the zipper of the brown duffel bag. She pulled it as far as it could go and looked inside.

"…"

"Well, what do you know? That's the first time you've shut up since you got here."

"I…" Go Go finally found some words. "I don't understand."

"So, you see," Mako started, the corners of his smile visible even with the mask. "It wouldn't really be fair for someone who wanted to burn everything to the ground to get this, right? So, that sort of disqualifies that person. Which means that the person in second place is the real winner."

He pointed at her with a giant finger.

"And that person's you."

Go Go looked down again.

"You won, girlie. You won the whole damn thing."

She slowly put a shaking hand in and pulled out one of the wads. It was as big as her hand and about an inch thick, the green 20 symbol in the corners of the bill. There were many other wads like that in the bag.

"There's got to be a million dollars in here."

"Million and a half," Mako said dismissively. "I did tell you I'd give you good odds on your side bet."

"Robbie...he came in second."

"Yup."

She set the cash back into the bag, trying to take it all in. Her mouth had become incredibly dry in those thirty seconds, so she had to swallow to get it wet again.

"Mako, I can't take this."

"Why not? You won."

"What about you? What about this?" She threw her arm out at the open area. "Aren't you going to go out of business or something?"

Mako snorted. "You kidding me? From what I hear, you blew the socks off of everyone watching. I'll have triple the amount of poor souls coming in trying to sniff the ground you walked on before I know it. I'll make that back in no time."

Go Go was still shellshocked. How was she going to explain _this_ to everyone?

"Oh wait."

He reached in and grabbed another wad of cash, casually flipping a few bills out of it. "This is for breaking my stuff." He threw it back inside. " _Now_ you can take it."

"I...I don't even know what to say."

"Just promise me something, OK?" Mako leaned forward. "Don't spend it all in one place. And buy something for your boy, too. I'm sure he could use some cheering up right now."

Go Go's brain finished its reboot. She looked at the bag, at Mako, and then at the bag again. She grabbed the strap and pulled it closer to her.

"You know what? I'm beginning to think that you're not as bad of a guy as you want everyone to believe."

Mako was quick with the retort. "Well, don't tell anyone, you hear?" He cupped his hand over his mouth. "I have a certain reputation to uphold."

Now they were both laughing. It echoed through the empty room until it died off naturally. Mako then patted the counter. "Well, I think your time's up. You should probably get going. I'm sure you got a lot to think about."

"Yeah, I do." She got up off of the stool, her new bag over her shoulder. She took the long walk back over to the entrance, but stopped as soon as her hand was on the door. She turned back around to look at the bartender.

"Thank you, Mako. For everything."

"You're welcome."

She looked out the small window in the door at her bike. "I'll have to stop by sometime in the future. See what you've done with the place."

"Nah, you won't."

Confused, she turned her head back toward him. Mako chuckled to himself. "Trust me, girlie. If you ever see this place again, that's when you know it's truly hit the fan."

"Huh?"

He let out a barking laugh. "You still don't get it, do you?" He waved her off with a flourish. "Don't worry. I'm sure that brain of yours will figure it out eventually."

She could only shake her head. It wasn't the time for riddles. She had Fred for that sort of thing. "I'll see you around, Mako."

"Heh. See you around, girlie."

Go Go walked out back into the sun. The air smelled cool and fresh in her nostrils. The sun wasn't even as hot as it was before, dipping momentarily behind the clouds as she stuffed the bag into her seat.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she brought it up to her ear without looking at it. "Hello?"

 _"Go Go! You actually answered!"_ Her roommate's voice blared through the speaker. _"I was calling you to ask about something, and you didn't pick up. I thought you disappeared again."  
_

"No, I'm here. I'm at the bar I talked to you guys about before. It was the place where I put my bet, remember?"

" _You didn't say anything about a bar. You just said you made a bet."_

"I'm right outside the place. Here." Go Go put Honey Lemon on the camera and pointed it at the building. "See? It's right here."

" _Go Go, what are you talking about? I just see a mountain."  
_

It was only then that Go Go looked up at what the Latina was seeing.

An empty cliff face. Untouched by nature. Small rocks jutting out of it. Sitting next to an empty, unpaved road that her bike was on.

Nothing was there.

Go Go's eyes were as wide as saucers, her brain back to a jumbled mess. Wait...did she...was it just…

_If you ever see this place again, that's when you know it's truly hit the fan._

She stood still, the events of the past two weeks coming back to her.

_I'll have triple the amount of poor souls coming in trying to sniff the ground you walked on before I know it._

Jamison's voice also came back.

_Don't act like you're innocent in all this. Your kind think that you're the perfect specimen who can do no wrong._

The invitation that no one else could see. The race and all of its participants. Not being able to get in contact with her friends. The giant flaming skull that had been in the sky. All of the pain and anguish she had gone through.

Go Go had gone through hell. And she was beginning to realize that it wasn't just figurative.

Maybe...it was literal, too.

_"Go Go. Are you OK?"_

The Korean stared down at her phone.

" _You look like you've seen a ghost."_

"I...umm…" She looked back up at the cliff, half expecting the building to pop back up. Nope. It was gone. "I gotta go, Honey Lemon. I'll see you in a little bit."

She didn't even wait for her response before hanging up. This was too much. She had to get home before she went crazy.

Or maybe she already was.

A sudden noise from her seat caused her to turn her body on the spot. There was a bright blue flame erupting from her seat, right where she had put the bag of money.

But in the two steps it took to come back to her bike, the fire had disappeared. Go Go threw open the bike seat to see the bag was still there. She threw open the bag and saw the money was there too.

But with a few additions.

The bottle of whiskey was laying down in the cash, the paper seal unbroken. There was a small piece of paper tied to the neck:

_Enjoy yourself, girlie._

There was a single white envelope at the bottom which she took and opened. Out fell a note and a heavy metal coin. It was the color of burnt copper, the insignia from the bottle on both sides. Around the rim were a few words:

_Good for one Deal with the Devil._

Go Go rubbed her thumb along the ridges of the coin. None of this made sense.

And yet everything made sense now.

She took one last look behind her where the building had been.

Back down at the coin.

And she couldn't help but shake her head.

"Well, I'll be damned..."

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** For the purposes of not boring you with a giant author's note after you've read probably the longest chapter I've ever written, I will be forwarding all of my remarks for this chapter into the next one. Yes, this was suppose to be the last chapter, but the added one-shot that I was going to post separately will be going up as the epilogue for this story.

I will say two things, though.

One, I need to learn to scope my chapters better. But that's what happens when you have a lot of stuff that you can't get rid of at the end.

And two…you forgot about the money, didn't you? :P

Don't worry. It's going to a good cause.

The actual finale will be next week. Read and review, if you like. Until next time, everyone.


	8. Come, High Water (Epilogue)

_**Disclaimer:** Big Hero 6 is owned by Disney Animation. Aspen is owned by Aspen MLT._

* * *

_**Chapter 8 - Come, High Water (Epilogue)** _

"Man, you weren't kidding when you said Fred was loaded."

"I _did_ tell you that he wouldn't miss the money."

"Yeah, you did. But I was expecting a nice apartment. Maybe a good looking car. Not _this._ "

"Does Fred _have_ a car? I don't even know."

Go Go was busy leading Robbie through Fred's mansion. They were _suppose_ to be heading toward the backyard. But the young child that was Robbie kept getting distracting by shiny things.

Like Fred's kitchen.

And Fred's bedroom.

And the six bathrooms on the way there.

So literally everything.

"Robbie!"

"What?"

Go Go ducked into the seventh bathroom to see Robbie staring at the soap dispenser. "I didn't bring you here so you could ogle at toiletries."

"Aww, can't I admire the craftsmanship?"

"No." She walked around his back and pushed him out of the bathroom. "I brought you here for a specific reason."

"Are you going to _tell_ me said reason?"

"In a minute."

It was now a couple of weeks since the entire Hell Race ordeal with Robbie had ended with him being permanently bonded to the spirit of his demon-loving uncle Eli. And that was a sentence that she would have immediately dismissed as crazy if she hadn't lived it herself.

Since then, she had to deal with Robbie being gone for a week, reappearing at her doorstep, and getting him back into a sate where he could be around people without wanting to set them on fire.

Or himself.

Given the fact that his phone was a smoldering mess somewhere in the middle of the California wilderness, Go Go had made him check in with her a few times via other people since he had left the Lucky Cat Cafe. One was through Rodrigo, one was through his work at the body shop, and the last one was with his brother Gabe.

True to his word, two days later, he was back with her in the flesh. And that brought up an opportunity that she couldn't pass up. Hence the backyard, which Go Go and Robbie had just now walked through the back doors to enter.

"Man, you must have had some crazy parties here with Fred when you were younger."

"Would you believe me if I told you that I didn't know he was rich until a year ago?"

"Wait, really? He gave you money for your hospital bill, though."

"Yeah, and the broke college student that I was at the time didn't question _where_ the money was coming from. Just that I was getting the money."

Robbie stepped into the backyard and whistled, marveling at the marble and shrubbery. "Geez Louise. Can I just live out here?"

"No."

Go Go walked backwards toward the statues in the center of the yard. "So, I was thinking..."

"I don't like the way you're talking right now."

She ignored him as they hit the rim around the round fountain. "I wanted to help you with controlling your new abilities. So I was racking my brain to try to think of different things we could set up. But it wouldn't exactly be fair if it was a six versus one free-for-all."

"Yeah, it wouldn't be much of a fight." Robbie rubbed his shoulder. "Plus I don't want to burn everything down. I've done too much of that recently."

"Which is why I wanted to bring someone in that will be able to cool you down. And they sort of know what you're going through."

Robbie started walking around to the far side of the fountain. "No offense, Go Go, but there's not a single person _alive_ that can relate to what I've gone thr-"

"Hello there, Hot Hands."

He stopped his sentence, now aware of the third occupant of the backyard. She was sitting with her legs crossed on the seat around the fountain, wearing blue yoga pants and a loose white shirt. Her eyes perked up at his arrival, the aquamarine eyes shining in the afternoon sun.

"Fancy meeting you here."

"...Aspen?"

The girl tossed her hair over her shoulder and stood up. "I thought you forgot my name for a second." She winked at him as she started stretching. "I like the haircut, too. Is that your doing, Go Go?"

"Yup."

Robbie turned to the Korean, now completely confused. "Go Go, what is she doing here?"

"Aww, is that any way to treat your friend? For shame, Robbie."

Go Go motioned to the marine biologist. "Robbie...Aspen is going to be your teacher for today."

There was a solid ten seconds where nobody in the court yard said anything. Robbie looked from Go Go (smiling from ear to ear) to Aspen (continuing to smirk) and back again a few times.

"Bwahahahaha!"

Robbie doubled over his knees in laughter. The two girls standing over him exchanged an amused look. Aspen opened her mouth to say something, but Go Go held up a finger.

 _Let him have this,_ she mouthed.

Aspen let out a small chuckle.

"Oh man." Robbie's body came back up as he wiped a tear away from his eye. "I really needed that laugh. I'm...I'm sorry, Aspen. I don't mean any offense. But I don't think you're the right person for this job."

The blue-haired girl had taken his criticism well, only letting her grin get wider. She leaned around Robbie to look at Go Go again. "Can I do the thing now?"

"Aspen..." Go Go waved toward the fountain. "Do the thing."

"Finally! I've been waiting here for an eternity!"

Robbie watched Aspen hop up onto the fountain, twirling in place on her bare feet. She held her arms out by her sides, her eyes now closed in concentration.

"What is she doing?"

"Just watch, Hot Hands."

The Latino sighed in Go Go's direction. "Don't you start with that, too."

"Robbie."

She pointed over to their companion, and Robbie forgot about his affectionate nickname instantly. The water in the fountain was now climbing up into the air in ribbons, twirling around her limbs and body. One of them went around Robbie's waist before diving back into the fountain. Aspen held her hand as a large orb started to form in her palm, pulsating right in front of Robbie's face.

And the jaw that was hanging off of it.

"I never get tired of her doing that."

It looked like Robbie was finally able to find his voice again. He slapped his hands together.

"Hold on. Timeout."

He looked over at Go Go, awestruck. "You've _known_ she can do this?"

"Well, yeah. Can't you tell by the look of non-surprise on my face?"

"But like...how..."

Go Go pushed his jaw up with her finger to close his mouth. "You remember a few months ago when that giant laser came down from the sky?"

"Yeah."

"That was me!" Aspen cut in. "Well, it wasn't _me_. Not entirely. But I was there."

"...I feel like I'm missing a giant amount of context," Robbie said.

"Well, you are. I'm sure Aspen will fill you in. But in the meantime..." Go Go held up her phone and pressed a button on it. "I have to go on patrol with everyone. You two have fun."

"Wait, you're _actually_ going to leave me with her?"

Her Skymax came in and hovered next to her, the hatch open to reveal her armor. She smiled at him as she pulled her discs out. "What? You'll live. We'll be gone for an hour, tops. You can use that time to let Aspen help you with your control."

Robbie whirled around at Aspen, who slyly waved at him. He turned back to her to see Go Go already had her back undersuit on, clicking the chestpiece into place. Seeing his look of confusion, she laughed. "I've learned to put this thing on in record time. You would not believe the amount of times I've had to get suited up in record time."

"Can I help?" he asked.

Her helmet got stuffed into his gut in response, and Go Go used the time to test all of her discs. She skated around his body, shooting one last look at the other girl. "Go easy on him, Aspen. He's still taking baby steps with this thing."

"Yes, ma'am!" Aspen responded with a salute.

Rolling back in front of Robbie, she plucked the helmet out of his hands. "Thank you, babe," she said, planting a quick peck on his cheek. "I'll be back soon. You be good, OK?" With that, she pushed the helmet onto her head and jumped the fence to the backyard out of sight.

"Did she just call you 'babe'? _And kiss you!?_ " Aspen squealed. "Oh man, there's a _lot_ that's happened since I've been here last. But I told Go Go I'd behave myself." She hopped down from the fountain and tossed the orb of water back into it. "Well, let's get started. I need to change." She grabbed both side of her shirt with her hands and started pulling it up.

"Gah!" Robbie turned on the spot and covered his eyes. "Aspen!"

"What? I'm wearing proper attire underneath here. Stop being a prude."

A sudden pain shot into his side, and Robbie jumped up at the rolled-up shirt whipping his body. He whirled around to see Aspen in a sports bra to accompany her pants. She tossed the shirt down as she tied her hair up in a ponytail. "So, the first thing we're going to do is meditate. Being able to concentrate is the first step toward control."

"Wait. I'm still _so_ confused." Robbie was still trying to sort things out. "How can you do that? The whole water thing?"

Aspen shot him another smirk as she sat down in the grass. "That's not until Lesson 3. Now...have a seat."

Robbie had no choice but to occupy the grass right in front of her. Content, Aspen took a deep breath in. "Wasabi always tells me that yoga is a great way to get yourself to relax. We'll do that for a little bit."

Both of them closed their eyes, trying to let the sounds of nature and the fountain take them away to their personal nirvana.

One more than the other.

"This is stupid."

"Alright, let me check the time." Aspen looked down at her phone. "Yup. Fifteen seconds. That's about how much Go Go was expecting."

Robbie threw his body back into the grass. "Look, I know you're trying to help me, but I'm not a meditation kind of guy. You don't think I've tried it already? I have to share my brain with someone else now."

"So you want the direct approach, huh?"

A ball of water dropped into his field of view and splatted on his face before he could react. Now soaked, Robbie sat up to see Aspen holding her sides in laughter. "What was that for?" he yelled.

She stopped giggling enough to respond. "I'm trying different ways of teaching. I'm new to this whole thing, you know."

"Ugh. Forget it." Robbie got up and started toward the back door. "I'm going to wait inside for them."

"Oh, come on. Would it help if I said I was sorry?"

The Latino whirled around back at her, who just stared back at him inquisitively. His temper was now boiling over.

"You're not helping, Aspen! You're just being your normal cutesy, oblivious self!"

"Aww, did you just call me cute?"

Robbie ignored her, instead continuing to lash out. "These past two weeks have been hell for me! I have to basically walk on eggshells everywhere I go so that I don't lose control! I'm just so... _mad_ all the time! I hate it!"

Aspen got up to her feet, her face indecipherable.

"And then _you_ stroll in here thinking that you can just fix everything. You can't! You have _no idea_ what I've been through! All of this chaos and destruction and-"

He got cut off by a searing pain in his head. He dropped to his knees and clutched his forehead as the voice that had been sitting in his brain crept back up again.

" _ **So you should teach her a lesson, kid."**_

"Are you mad, Robbie?"

He looked up to see Aspen staring back at her. Her eyes were halfway closed as she opened her mouth again. "How mad are you right now?"

"Huh?"

"How mad are you at the world?"

He felt the skull begin to form over his face, the anger now on the surface. "I'm mad at everything."

Aspen got herself into a fighting stance, staring daggers into him.

"...Then show me how mad you are."

Robbie roared, the skull now completely overtaking his head. In one fluid motion, he threw his hands forward, sending two giant plumes of fire directly at Aspen. The marine biologist had no time to react as the flames engulfed her.

" _ **Another one bites the dust."**_ Robbie's body started walking toward Aspen, still shooting out fire. **_"Now I can get out of here and-Gah!"_**

Robbie's right hand grabbed his wrist, cutting off the stream. He stopped walking forward and threw himself down, the skull dissipating away.

He was back to normal. But it was too late for Aspen, who was now-

"You think you're the only one who's mad, Robbie?"

His head whipped back up to see the last remnants of the water shield she had put up disappear back into the fountain. Aspen's eyes were glowing blue, her bangs levitating back down as they went back to normal.

"I've been mad since I found out that my father wasn't really my father."

Her hand started shaking uncontrollably.

"I've been mad ever since I learned that man rescued me from a shipwreck when I was nine, and experimented on me for twelve straight years."

Aspen's breathing became heavy and labored.

"I'm not even fully human, and I don't know if I'm ever going to find out what I am. My memories were taken away from me, and I've basically had to learn how to live all over again. And if it wasn't for Wasabi and everyone here...I'd probably be dead."

She pointed right at his head.

"So don't _sit there_ and tell me that I don't know what you've been through. Because I _do._ More than you know."

Aspen cracked her fingers and resumed her fighting stance. "Now, are you going to actually try to hit me with something?"

Her fingers curled toward her, beckoning him forward.

"...Or is that all you got?"

Robbie smirked.

* * *

An hour later, Robbie and Aspen had finished their sparring session. It turned out that the direct approach _was_ the better way to deal with things, at least when it came to Robbie. He was still new to the conjuring fire bit, but he had gotten enough practice with it that he could summon it on command. He was even able to control it on a very minute level.

But Aspen was his superior. Her mastery over water was something to behold, almost effortlessly able to counter, redirect, and reflect every errant fireball he threw at her. There _was_ one thing that she was able to notice, though.

"Eventually, you'd be able to overtake me." She pointed to the fountain, which had become bone dry. "You can conjure fire out of thin air; I don't have that luxury. If you got me to a place where I couldn't have access to water, I'd be screwed."

Robbie sat down on the rim, his jacket now off and fanning his face. "I'll have to remember that for next time."

Aspen's skin was also glistening with sweat, but she was saved by the arrival of Heathcliff, who carried some towels and bottled water over to them. "I assume it is safe for me to make an appearance, Master Aspen."

"Thank you, Heathcliff." She grabbed a towel and dabbed it around her neck.

"I also want to say that the others should be returning momentarily. I will be happy to inform them that the two of you didn't not succeed in _completely_ laying waste to the architecture."

The two looked around. There were several scorch marks on the turf, and chunks of the marble columns were missing, pieces strewn around them. "Sorry about that, dude," Robbie said.

"I have seen many messes come and go here, Master Robbie. This is not the first, and I am sure it will not be the last...dude."

The butler walked away under his curious look, but he went back to wiping himself off. Aspen threw her body down next to him, staying silent for the meantime.

"I'm sorry, Aspen. For earlier."

"Hmm?"

Robbie took a giant gulp of his water, setting the half-empty bottle down. "I shouldn't have said what I said to you. I was letting my anger out. I didn't...I didn't know all of that stuff about you. I just thought you were trying to provoke me."

Aspen smiled as she hung her towel over her neck. "Well, to be fair, I _was_ trying to provoke you. Go Go sent me a private message saying what had happened so that I knew what I was getting to. But I wasn't expecting all of this. I guess it's just a day in the life now, huh?"

"Yeah."

They were quiet for a little bit, letting the wind whip around to cool them down.

"How do you do it, Aspen?"

"Oh, the water thing?" She twirled her fingers around, tiny marbled of water hovering around her wrist like a necklace. "I practice a lot. I mean, I've been doing it on and off for twelve years, and you've had yours for two weeks. It'll just take time."

"No, not that. The anger."

Aspen turned to look at him.

"How do you not let it take you over? What's stopping you for just losing control?"

She set a hand on his bicep and squeezed it gently.

Several times.

"Aspen?"

"Sorry, I'm still in shock as to how muscular you are."

"Aspen..."

"Seriously, you need to give me your exercise regimen. If I had muscles like you, I could totally-"

Robbie shot her a glare.

"Right. Anger."

Her hand went back to her side.

"Whenever I feel sad, or angry, or like the world is collapsing around me, I think about the people that have helped me. The people that came to me when I was at my lowest low. And for me, that's my friends. That's Hiro and Go Go and everyone else. I think about those guys and the way they make me feel. They make me feel safe. They make me feel like I matter."

She held up her phone, and Robbie looked down at the screen.

"Of course I...may be a little biased as to which one makes me feel the best."

The picture was of Aspen, standing right in front of Wasabi at the graduation. He was in his cap and gown, his arms wrapped around her waist as she held the phone far enough from them to get the photo.

"You have someone who is your rock. Your anchor. Someone who will be there for you when times get rough. And for you, that's Go Go. And for me, it's Wasabi." She set her phone down. "We've only really known each other since the beginning of the year, but I feel like he's been with me my whole life. He understands me. He let me stay with him when I had nowhere to go. And I know that I can call him and he'll answer no matter what. He's been the most reliable thing that I've ever had."

Her fingers drifted over the cold stone as she finished her tangent.

"And...that's why I love him."

The sheer weight of the words seemed to shock even her, because Robbie saw her eyes widen instantly.

"Oh my God."

"What?" Robbie said.

"I..." Aspen put her hand over her mouth. "I said I love him."

"OK?"

"No!" She grabbed his shirt and yanked him in, staring him down. "You don't understand! I said _I love him!"  
_

"I know." Robbie pointed down to the fountain with his index fingers. "I was _right here_ when you said it."

"Oh my God!" She let him go and put her palms on her head. "What am I gonna do? I've never said that about anyone before. I mean, I've said it _jokingly_ before to people, but I wasn't...joking..."

It was quite interesting to see her have a mental breakdown, even if it was for a reason like this. Robbie could almost hear the dial tone attempt to reboot her brain back into working condition.

"Hey guys."

Robbie turned to see Wasabi arriving at their location. He cast a concerned glance over at Aspen, who was still staring into the ground. "Is she OK?"

"Yeah, she's fine. I think."

Upon hearing his voice, Aspen's head yanked back up. Her eyes went back to their normal size and it was replaced by a large grin. "Hi, Wasabi!"

"Umm...hey. You alright? You look tired."

"A little bit. But nothing a little food can't fix." She shot up from the seat and grabbed Wasabi's arm. "Hey, can I...talk to you? Inside?"

"Sure. Is everything OK?"

"Oh yeah. Definitely." Aspen led him back down the path into the house, but not before shooting one final glance at Robbie, who was now extremely interested in how this conversation was going to go. Unfortunately, Go Go was coming out now, free from her superhero suit and also trying to decipher Aspen's odd look. She made her way over to him, a large white bag in her hand.

"What's her problem?"

"I think you're going to find out in a little bit." He looked down at the bag. "Please tell me that's food. I'm starving."

"It is." Go Go put it on the stone and pulled out a large black bowl, opening the lid to reveal a bunch of thinly sliced beef. "I got some _bulgogi_ from _Krazy Korea._ I can't eat _Yaki Taco_ again; I don't understand how Fred can eat it all the time. But the owners were sure excited to see Speed Queen come in and order. I should go there more often."

"Speed Queen?"

"Don't even ask."

The two dug in, Robbie heaping in beef and rice into a smaller bowl. Go Go looked around and took stock of the damage to the backyard. "I see that you two made some progress."

"Yeah, Aspen's scary when she goes all glowy."

"This is true." She put another slice of beef in her mouth. "So, how'd things go with work?"

Robbie sighed. "Canelo told me that you visited him."

"Yeah. It was quite the conversation, if you could imagine."

"I can." He put his fork down in the bowl. "But you have to understand something about him; he's 'fired' me about six times now. And every time he's done that, he calls me two days later practically begging me to come back. He's mad at me, but it always blows over. It'll happen this time, too. I just have to wait him out."

"You know you don't have to work there, right? Can't you go somewhere else?"

Robbie shrugged. "Gotta make money somehow. I have to save up to get another phone. My old one is probably sitting somewhere in the woods in a million pieces."

He felt Go Go poke him in the arm and looked over at her. She was holding another bag, but this one was small and black.

"Here."

He took the bag and pulled out the box inside. He took off the top to reveal a brand new phone, already in a black and white case.

"Try not to melt this one, OK?"

"Did you buy this for me?" he asked.

"Technically, _we_ did."

"I am so confused."

"Look in your Notes," Go Go said.

Cautiously, Robbie turned the phone on and went over to the appropriate application. He pressed his thumb into the only existing note and opened it.

"What is this?"

Go Go leaned over his shoulder and pointed down at the screen to the two long string of digits. "Well, _that's_ a routing number. And that is an account number. And both of those correspond to a bank account that was opened two days ago."

"By who?"

She pulled out her own phone, pressed a few buttons, and then showed him the screen.

"...By me."

The dollar amount made Robbie almost choke on his food. "Holy cow, Go Go. Where'd do you get that money from? Fred?"

"No," she answered. "It was from Mako. For winning the race."

Robbie continued to stare at her.

"Yeah, I know. I didn't believe it either. But he said I won it fair and square. Gave me a giant bag of cash. Of course, it would look rather weird if I showed up at a bank and plopped that down on the table, so I had Fred deposit it into a bank account and sign the access rights over to me. And then I added your name on it."

"So wait." He put his empty bowl down. "That means..."

"Yeah. It's a shared bank account. It's _ours_." Go Go's hand came down on his. "There should be more than enough money to help you get Gabe what he needs. If you want to wait until things settle down before trying to get custody, that would probably be for the best. But at least get the poor kid a new wheelchair. The one he has right now is coming apart at the seems."

Robbie, for the umpteenth time today, was rendered speechless. The inside of his mouth was going to be dry from all of the hanging his jaw was doing. Go Go couldn't help but chuckle as she closed her phone. "And there was even more money in there, but I used some of it to pay back Fred from years ago. I didn't take no for an answer this time."

He shook the cobwebs out of his head and looked at his girlfriend. His next question came out muted, almost worried.

"How do you know that I'm not going to go crazy and take all of it out?"

Go Go stared at him for about a half-second, then responded.

"I don't."

She stood up, pulling Robbie with her to a standing position. "But we're here to support you. And we hope that you can support us in return."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, that's where we come in."

Robbie looked over Go Go's head to see that the rest of the group walking towards them. They were all back in their normal casual attire. Hiro was poking around on Baymax's chest, some sort of symbol rotating on his chest screen. Fred was framing the backyard in his hands, surveying the damage. Honey Lemon had her purse slung over her shoulder and some sort of lettuce wrap in tin foil. Aspen was clutching Wasabi's arm, and his eyes were still whirling from their earlier indoor conversation.

"Is Wasabi going to be OK?" Robbie asked.

"Oh, don't worry. He's fine," Fred replied. "I think he just ate something bad."

The Latino looked at Aspen, who only grimaced in response.

"Have you asked him yet, Go Go?" Honey Lemon said.

"I was waiting for Hiro's presentation."

"For the last time, I don't have a presentation." Hiro expanded Baymax's screen, and Robbie could see the symbol now; it was a circle enclosing two diamond-like eyes in the center. The entire thing was a dark-orange, almost red. "And I was trying to get Peni here, but she might be doing her own patrol. Oh, here we go."

The symbol on the screen was replaced by someone's bedroom, and sitting at the desk was a young girl, black hair wildly unkempt. A hairclip on the left side of her head had a spider on it. Her face looked very much like the boy she was now looking at.

" _Good afternoon, Hiro. My apologies for being late; I had to make some modifications to S.P.I.D.E.R.'s programming. It turns out that he is not well-equipped to handle a man with psionics embedded into his giant eyeball head."_

"Yeah, you're going to have to tell me all about that later." Hiro waved to Robbie. "Peni, this is Robbie."

" _Hello, Robbie. I assume you are going to partake in this experiment as well?"  
_

"What experiment?" Robbie pointed at Peni. "And why does she look so much like you? Is she your female clone?"

" _Close. I am Hiro's cousin, currently in the process of attending the Neo York Institute of Technology."  
_

The Latino shook his head. "Wait, there's _more_ of you?"

"Hey, that's what I said!" Aspen chimed in.

" _Anyway..."_ Go Go saved Hiro from having a conniption fit and turned to the person next to him. "Robbie, this was the other reason why I wanted you to come today. We wanted to ask you about something that we've been talking about for a while."

"Which is what?"

She looked at Baymax, who held up a finger. _"Hiro and Wasabi originally had a plan that involved the recruitment of other individuals into a supporting role for Big Hero 6."  
_

"Can you say that in English, big guy?"

Wasabi had recovered enough to speak up. "After we became fugitives from Chief Cruz, there was a point in time where we were safe, but the city was still being overrun by criminals. We were stuck because while we still wanted to help, showing our faces around would only cause more problems. So, Hiro and I came up with an idea. Aspen already knows about it because I asked her and she accepted."

Now it was Fred's turn to talk, stepping up to the lip of the fountain. "We wanted to bring a bunch of awesome people together and see if we could help them be even more awesome. It did start with Aquagirl here ("Trademarked, remember?" Aspen joked), but now we have her and Peni. And we want you too."

"Me?"

"Yeah. We want _you_." Honey Lemon walked over and put her hand on his shoulder. "Robbie, you may not think about it this way now, but you were given a power that no one else has. And we can help you become stronger. Eli will still be there with you, but you can be your own person. Your own path. You're a hero, Robbie. We've seen that. And it would be great if you joined up with us."

This was all too much. It wasn't even that long ago that he was trying to fight with the voices in his head. But now this?

"So...you want me to join Big Hero 6?"

" _Partially."_ Peni pressed a few keys on her computer, and three symbols showed up next to her. One was the orange-red one from before, a second was light blue with a bunch of curvy lines, and the third had a white question mark over it. _"As I am currently in Neo York fighting crime as Spider-Mech-"_

"Wait. I thought he was a robot."

" _He is. But he had to be piloted. And that pilot is me."_

Robbie looked at Go Go, who smiled at him. "Yeah, that giant robot battle that happened between the Kentucky Kaiju and that electric lizard? That was us. And Peni, of course. But we're getting off-topic."

" _As I was saying, because I am currently over on the East Coast, it does not make much sense for me to travel between here and San Fransokyo. Not that I can, because I have school matters to attend to in the fall. But as Hiro explained to me, there may be a time where they cannot properly fulfill their duties. That is where we would come in. We would fill in until they were able to resume their responsibilities."  
_

Aspen spoke up from Wasabi's side. "Robbie, you can be a part of something bigger than yourself. You can do it. I know you can. All you need is a little control, and we can give that to you."

Go Go stared up at him, a little hope in her eyes. "So. What do you say? Do you want in?"

"Oh man." Robbie's head was spinning, but he shook it to steady himself. "That's...some accidental presentation I just got."

"Robbie, you don't have to join if you don't want to. I know this is a lot of information we just threw on you, but we wouldn't have done this if we didn't trust you."

He took another second to ponder through his options. "What's in it for me? Do I get a fancy membership card or something?"

"It's so awesome!" Now Aspen was next to him, her hand on his wrist. "There's a secret base and you get a awesome _chair_ with your symbol on it and there's even a snack bar!"

"Not yet," Fred said. "Roddy's going to install it this week."

Wasabi rolled his eyes. "All that aside, Robbie, we know it's a tough decision. You have a lot going on right now in your life. But we think we can make it better. And it starts with this."

Robbie looked down. This _was_ a tough one. Before, he just had to worry about himself and Gabe. But all of this? It was something else.

But there was really only one answer. And it was the one that he had been thinking ever since the question was first asked. He conjured a fireball in his hands, staring at the flame dancing around his palm. He didn't see Peni's wide-eyed expression on the screen, or Go Go's hopeful look. But his mind was already made up.

"OK." He closed his hand to dissipate the fire. "I'm in."

"Good." Hiro pointed down at his pocket. "Then I guess we should make it official." As Robbie pulled out his cell, he turned to the other two new people. "Peni, Aspen, you'll want to do this as well. I made a few changes to the secure line on your phones. Go Go?"

She pointed at the top right corner of the screen, and Robbie saw an unfamiliar icon. It was black and white, large thick lines forming a jagged arch inside the circle. In the center was a stylized flame surrounded by what looked like his skull. He pressed the button...but it did nothing.

"Here. You gotta move it."

Robbie pressed his finger down further and followed her directions, dragging it around the edge of the screen counter-clockwise until he hit the middle on the right side. He then pushed it to the exact middle of the screen, and the background instantly changed to a big giant red number six. Stunned, he saw Go Go's eyes look up at him, filled with happiness.

"Now, we just need a codename for you." Fred rubbed his chin in thought as he walked around him. "Peni's already got one. Aspen needs one, but we can focus on her later. How about...Skull Man?"

"How about we _don't_ call him that?" Go Go joked. "And I don't think that's really important."

"I got one."

Everyone focused on Robbie.

"It was the prize that people were going for in the race. The title that they were fighting for. I guess given the circumstances I think I can use that title for this situation."

Robbie rubbed his shaven head, the scars on his forehead showing prominently.

"Ghost Rider."

"Hmmm." Fred was still staring at him. "Short. To the point. Doesn't reference the whole fire thing, but it scares people. I _love_ it!"

"Well, if you have Freddie's approval, then you're all good," Honey Lemon laughed.

The group fell into their own conversations: Hiro and Baymax with Peni, Honey Lemon with Fred, and Aspen with Wasabi. Another round of food was being passed around as well, and Robbie was all ready to dig in again. But before he did, he turned to Go Go, who was still staring at him.

"What?"

"Nothing. I'm just happy for you."

"Are you showing emotions? I can get used to that."

Chuckling slightly, she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. Her lips went to his ear and whispered into it.

"Welcome to the team, Robbie."

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Hold on, are we forgetting someone?

Nah, I must be losing my mind.

* * *

"I must be losing my mind. Where is my blasted house key?"

The woman's search was interrupted by the ringing of her phone, which she immediately brought up to her ear. "Hello?"

" _Hi, Professor. Is this a bad time?"_

"Of course not, Ms. Tanaka. I'm merely entrenched in a hunt for the ability to enter my household. How are you doing this evening?"

" _I've been better. But I came back from the race with Robbie."  
_

"I heard." She finally was able to find her key, unlocking the door to let herself in. "Mr. Hamada filled me in on the details. How is he holding up?"

" _He's been better. He's got a lot of pent-up anger, and for a very good reason. But I think he'll pull through."  
_

"Yes, I'm sure as his companion you will help him in that endeavor."

The silence on the other end on the line was deafening, and Professor Granville chuckled. "Yes, Mr. Hamada threw in that little detail as well. How does it feel to be a part of the non-single crowd?"

" _Weird. **Very** weird. Even weirder than having the spirit of your devil-worshiping uncle in your head."_

Granville set her purse down on the counter and started sorting through her mail. She had just grabbed her letter opener when Go Go spoke up again.

" _Professor, I wanted to pass along a message from...from someone that was also in the race."_

"From who, Ms. Tanaka?"

" _...From Johnny."_

The opener clattered down onto the counter.

" _He wanted me to tell you that he was sorry. And that he wishes it could have gone differently."_

Granville's hand clenched around the granite. "Are you sure it was him?"

_"He called you Grace, Professor. How many people do that?"_

She didn't directly respond to that. Instead, she gathered her emotions together and grabbed the letter opener again. "Thank you for informing me, Ms. Tanaka. But I'm afraid that I must leave. I have a few things to take care of before I turn in for the night."

" _OK. Have a good night."  
_

"And you as well."

Granville hung up and picked up the first letter in her stack. Strange, it had no address on it. It actually didn't have anything on it at all. Maybe it was put in the wrong mailbox? She slipped the blade under the flap and flipped it open. Inside was a small piece of paper, folded into quarters. Sitting next to it was something long and thin. She turned the envelope over and poured out its contents.

A single film reel came out into her palm. She looked down at it...and gasped.

It fell to the counter as she hurriedly unfolded the note. There were only a few words on it:

_No one could forget you, Grace._

Her eyes went to the reel. On it were the exact same photos that she had in her wallet. But these looked brand new. Like they had been preserved...

A sudden squeal of tires jolted Granville out of her thoughts. In a flash, she ran over to the door and threw it open, running out to the end of her walkway.

But whoever made the noise was already gone. As she hit the main road, all she saw in the road was a tire track, small flames burning all around it. The sounds of the engine were already over the horizon, disappearing into the night. Breathing heavily, she stared down at the photos in her hand.

"Johnathon..."

_THE END_

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE, TAKE TWO:** See, I've been misleading you guys the entire time. My true OTP is Johnny/Granville.

That's a joke.

...Sort of.

So, we've come to the end of **Highway to Hell**. Robbie is now officially a member of the side team. And I'm also very tired.

I'm going to address the obvious thing first. I didn't write this story very well. I did not do nearly enough planning or outlining when it came to this story, and I think it sort of showed in the writing. I do think at the end of it all I got the message that I wanted, but a lot of the stuff in the middle could use some clean-up. So I might go back and rewrite some things.

The upload schedule did not help things either. Uploading on Sundays as opposed to Friday or even Saturday made the viewership suffer. For the next multi-chapter story I do, I'm going to do a lot more planning so that I can get it uploaded on Fridays.

I do think, however, that I was able to give Robbie his due justice. And I guess that's what really mattered to me.

So now we have Aspen, Robbie, and Peni as a part of the side team. With S.P.I.D.E.R., that makes four. I think we all know who the fifth member is going to be.

But who is the sixth?

You guys will have to wait a little longer to find that answer. I have a few one-shots that will fill up the rest of the month that I hope you guys will enjoy.

As always, I thank all of the people that commented, left kudos, or reviewed the story. It obviously wasn't at the levels that I had in my previous fics, but I'm glad that people enjoyed it.

But enough of the Go Go/Robbie and Aspen/Wasabi and those side pairing. Let's get back to a little Hiro/Karmi...shall we? :P

Read and review, if you like. Until next time, everyone.


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